When Kentucky basketball coach Billy Gillispie offered a scholarship to eighth-grader Michael Avery of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and he accepted, the NCAA recruiting world flipped its lid.

Nevermind that other schools have done the same thing, nor that Avery was already playing AAU tournaments across the country, like many kids from ages 10 and up. No, somehow this was the straw that broke the Camelot's back.

This isn't to say there aren't reasons to look more closely at the situation, or to legimiately questions the system. It's just that it seemed a little convenient that Kentucky was the lightning rod for criticism. So be it.

Back to the task at hand, though, what is the kid up to?

Avery, who had not as of his commitment to college decided which high school he was going to attend, settled on Crespi High in Encino, Calif. Thus far, Avery seems to have fit in nicely in his new home.

Avery scored a team-high 19 points, including 17 in the first half, of a Crespi win in a loaded summer high school tournament in Los Angeles, the Nike/Fairfax of Los Angeles tournament.

He followed that up with 14 in a loss in the fifth-place game.

Summer before his freshman year and he's alreayd in the spotlight. It's a long time until Mr. Avery (the younger) sees the floor in a Wildcats uniform, if he ever does. It'll be fascinating to see what happens between now and then.

This is the first in a series of guest commentaries from world-renowned authors and statesmen on some of the most memorable moments in Kentucky sports history ... Today: UK 60, UL 58. December 18, 2004.

"It wasn't always this way. What began far afield before -- in smaller gyms, in front of smaller crowds -- had come full circle. It was here, now. This moment. This man.

He had been born for it. Raised among the flat land and dying coal mines of Western Kentucky, the boy had grown up now, lost the look of home and of the soft familiarity of innocence. No, he had seen it now, the best and the worst, the exodus and the glory each.

The ball felt light in his hands.

What had started in bitterness, obscurity and some unrequited love, had now turned, a bulb in full bloom, a heart laid bare on the battlefield. No more rain, no more slow march. This was why he'd made the sacrifices, the lonely nights.

The roar of the masses was silence in his head.

Second chances. The revival after the tumult and now he was here, and it was good. A sea of blue, punctured by blood red. How far had he walked? How many steps had he taken? It did not matter. Nothing mattered except the long night and the rain on the roof and the ball in his hands like a child in need of deliverance.

It is his time.

What they would say about him, remember. The only thing he could give back was everything. The moment you pray for, and dread, and cherish all. Those forgotten nights at the gym, with the rain pounding the old roof, the smell of the dust in your nostrils and the knowledge, deep-seated, innate, that the moment will come, and you must be ready when it does. And so he was.

The sly grin and then the turn to face forever, immortality. The ball just another part of his calloused hands, the fear gone now, replaced by thoughts of the end. And the rush. The slowness and the fluid shot. The net does not move. It sits silent.

One more moment to go, and it's all over.

There were times when it seemed too far away. When old dreams were replaced by new ones, by acceptance and even newfound pride. And then it all changed, and uncertainty returned to his life, the boy now a man in his own right, no longer just the coach's son, the gym rat, the one too slow, too small and too far down the trail of displaced dreamers. But he was here despite all that, or because of it. It was what he was made of, an only thing. A sublime piece of the soul, his grandfather might have put it back then, on those humid days along the low-lying rows of corn and soybeans. All the heat, and dreaming of being alone no more.

But the lonely nights mattered. They had to. In the end, they were all that was true, and the continuity became his reality, so much so that where and when no longer mattered. Only the feel of the leather, the smell of the dust and the slow pound of his heart as the final shot goes through.

And then he heard it. Slowly at first, then all-encompassing. It took him over. And it was there, the dream fulfilled, realized in that roar once more.

Oh, God. That roar."

Hey there,

Lots of changes, obviously ... and while there are notes on the main page about who to contact with issues, it's sort of confusing, I know.

So if you have questions, suggestions, issues that you want addressed, post them here and we can pursue them vigorously...

ISSUE #1:
REMOVE Duke ringtones as ad on KENTUCKY SITE...for the love of jiminy...if htey can't control this, they got problems across the network ... rivalries are what college sports are all about!

Various internet sources now reporting Kentucky has secured a verbal commitment from ... wait for it ... AN EIGHTH-GRADER.

Michael Avery, a 6'4" combo guard out of Southern California, joins the nascent UK Class of 2012.

Seriously.

Clark Francis, the infamous recruiting guru, has Avery ranked as his No. 8 player in the class, No. 2 at his position, inexplicably listed as power forward.

A brief writeup from an AAU event in which his team went undefeated among strong competition...

Marc Maggard spoke to Michael's father about the commitment on his latest podcast, which I recommend. Great way of hearing how some of this stuff goes.

Avery recently spent time playing with Indiana Elite, the top flight AAU team which brought the world Greg Oden and Mike Conley, among others, and which currently boasts Stephen Van Treese, another UK target.

Avery also has played a level "up" on teams with players such as Duke commit Mason Plumlee and Treese, meaning this kid is getting into some very heady company recruit-wise.

More as it comes...

  [ED NOTE]...

For all of those folks talking about how sad this is, or how somehow we've crossed a line, what did you expect?

I'll address this in a future post, but you can't have it both ways. If you want elite talent a la UNC, Duke and Kansas, you have to be willing to play the game. We had a coach who was "above" such tactics. And it landed us more Mike Williamses and Sheray Thomases of late than it did Tywon Lawsons.

It's admittedly new ground for the program, but Billy Gillispie has a crack staff who is extremely visible on the AAU circuit. This trend, at least for now, of taking super early commitments is ahead of the curve. Maybe eventually, the game will change. But for now, I'd rather have a coach willing to play the game, short of cheating or shady street agents, than one who is above it and slowly fading into the woodwork.

End of brief rant...

So that "crappy" San Diego team we lost to at home turned out to be not so bad, huh?

And a hearty congrats to Lyon County, Kentucky's own Ty Rogers, whose dagger from way out shocked everyone's Midwest darling, Drake.

Hey, Tru, don't look now, but your Hilltoppers have outlasted your Wildcats ... when was the last time THAT happened?

This is your open thread.

Three more games, three more wins for the Kentucky baseball Cats, this time a series sweep over their first SEC foe, Alabama.

Even the warthogs over at Rivals.com had to let the undefeated 18-0 Wildcats into the rankings this week.

All the major polls now have John Cohen's crew ranked, though where seems to vary on to what degree Kentucky's cake-like early schedule is taken into consideration.

The highest mark comes from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper D-I poll, where Kentucky rocks in at No. 2. The lowest is from Rivals, who has the Wildcats at No. 18, after not ranking them previously. A few others chime in at No. 11 (USA Today/ESPN), at No. 16 (baseball America), and at 12 (NCBWA).

UK is led by senior sensation Sawyer Carroll, who is raking at an unbelievable .532 clip with 7 homers and 32 RBIs, a stupid 1.032 slugging percentage and a Bonds-like .634 OBP (let's hope that's where Bonds comparisons end, eh?).

The staff ERA is a lowly 2.08, led by senior Greg Dombrowski (4-0, 1.27) and junior Scott Green (2-0, 1.64, 33-3 K/BB).

The Cats are back on the diamond this Tuesday, hosting the Morehead State Eagles at 4 p.m. ET from Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington.

According to all sources I can find, Kentucky's SEC Tournament quarterfinal game will be played at noon at Georgia Tech's Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

The tricks? In addition to the winner being forced to agree to play a second game that same day at 8:30-9 PM against a rested Mississippi State team, due to logistics and lack of time, there will be no non-family or necessary media and staff fan support for the noon game.

So the advantages Kentucky got for winning 12 games and receiving a bye in the first round? Yeah, those were negated first by postponing the game, allowing Georgia more time to rest, and then in an unthinkable way, by yanking the Big Blue Mist from the equation.

So Georgia effectively plays Kentucky with extra rest an hour from campus/home with no Kentucky fans.

Awesome!

Sure, it's an act of God, but Mike Slive had better know something we don't, because if Kentucky were to lose, understandably, to Georgia in this next game and then be booted from the Field of 65, there will be a pitchfork and fire-wielding mob making its way up I-64 from Lexington to burn Indianapolis to the ground.

More as it develops.

While Tru and I gather ourselves for some posting over this busiest of tournament weekends, here's a little someplace to post your thoughts.

A few nuggets to get us started:

• TCP has a new interview up with Texas JUCO forward Roderick Flemings that puts the Cats in the driver's seat for this former Oklahoma St. signee and scoring machine. A second JUCO, this time as a scorer, would seemingly close the door on Scotty Hopson (or not), and would mean a 2008 class of DeAndre Liggins, Darius Miller, Kevin Galloway and this Flemings dude.
• JUCO signings are an interesting choice for Gillispie, who got a late jump on recruiting for 2008 (and even 2009, in some ways) when he came over from Texas A&M. They upgrade the overall talent level immediately, and they don't clog up your recruiting for 2010, where the Cats already have two verbal commitments.
• Kentucky plays Friday evening's late game, against the winner of Ole Miss-Georgia. Everyone seems to think Ole Miss is a shoo-in, I do not.

Don't look now, UK faithful, but your Kentucky Baseball Cats are threatening to make the Bluegrass college baseball country.

The program has long been a good one in an unthinkably tough conference. Former coach Keith Madison coached 85 players either drafted or who signed professional contracts in 25 seasons at the helm, and that includes an impressive 14 who found their way to the big leagues. Among these are 2006 National League Cy Young winner Brandon Webb. When Madison hung up his spikes, he left as the third-winningest coach (735 wins) in Southeastern Conference history, trailing only legends Ron Polk (Mississippi State) and Skip Bertman (LSU).

My point is that in all that time, with all that success, the program never -- never, mind you -- reached the level it is currently motoring at under his replacement, John Cohen.

To wit, on Tuesday, Kentucky swept a doubleheader from Eastern Michigan to raise its record on the season to a perfect 15-0. Three more wins would equal a school record 18-0 start set way back in ... last year.

Kentucky currently ranks in the top 20 in all the major college baseball polls (notoriously freaky as they are), including: #4 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, #15 in the USA Today/Coaches poll, and #17 in Baseball America.

There is some debate as to how tough/weak the early season schedule has been, but one thing is certain, these guys can pound the ball.

Up next for the Cats: A weekend series at home against Alabama.