Sunday, July 11, 1999
Kentucky trying to get to the point with recruiting
Backcourt talent is abundant in senior class
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
TEANECK, N.J. — There is at least one person deeply involved in the college basketball recruiting scene who believes Kentucky coach Tubby Smith was brilliant to delay the Wildcats' search for a point guard by a year.
And don't think Omar Cook is biased simply because UK now is chasing him.
“They made a good choice in waiting, because there's nothing but guards in this class right here,” said Cook, a 5-foot-11 senior-to-be at Christ The King High in Middle Village, N.Y.
“There's all kinds of good guards. There's about 35 of us. If they don't get me, they should get somebody good.”
Although UK entered the 1998-99 season aware three-year starter Wayne Turner was in his final year, Smith and his staff assessed the point guards in the class of 1999 and determined none but New Jersey's Jason Williams was a marked improvement over Saul Smith, the coach's son. When Williams committed to Duke early last fall, UK was out of the point guard business.
This year, though, New York City alone has three high-caliber point guards: Cook, 6-foot Taliek Brown of St.John's Prep and Rice High's 5-7 Andre Barrett, a teammate last season of Cincinnati Bearcats recruit Kenny Satterfield.
In all, seven point guards are widely regarded as ranking among the top 30 players in the class of 2000. Kentucky is being taken seriously by all of them, including 6-2 Scooter Sherrill of Salisbury, N.C., 6-3 Marcus Taylor of East Lansing, Mich., 6-1 Imari Sawyer of Chicago and 6-foot Chris Duhon of Slidell, La.
“They're going to get a good player if they recruit the right people,” Cook said. “They're definitely high on my list.”
It appears the Wildcats are working from a step behind on several of the best. Friday afternoon here at the adidas ABCD Camp, UK had assistant coach George Felton standing at courtside to watch Duhon play. Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski, however, was standing just a few feet to the right.
UK may have a difficult time winning Cook away from North Carolina. Taylor, who has played pickup games with Michigan State players since he was in junior high, is widely presumed to be a future Spartan. Those who know Duhon well indicate Duke will be nearly impossible to defeat.
Cook, though, says he's still in the process of making up his mind, regardless of what others
perceive. College coaches are so convinced he'll consider no one other than Carolina or UK that only seven called in the two weeks since they were permitted by the NCAA to contact senior prospects.
“Probably because a lot of big schools are after me, the others feel they have no shot,” Cook said. “A lot of times you hear my name, it's either North Carolina or you hear Kentucky. The other coaches are like, "Forget about it. He's taken.' But I'm wide open right now.”
Duhon's interest in Duke is curious, with Williams already set to take over the point. Duhon knows UK has an opening for him to quite possibly start as a freshman, but he also feels comfortable at shooting guard and would be willing to share a backcourt with Williams.
“I think how Duke plays, they really don't play positions,” Duhon said. “I think we can play together. And even if I came off the bench — just so I get playing time. It would be a good situation for me.”
Sherrill, who prefers to play shooting guard but is an adept enough ballhandler to run an offense, said flatly that he views UK as “my second option.”
His first is to attend North Carolina, which is closer to home. But the Tar Heels have not yet indicated whether they'll offer a scholarship. He'll wait, but not as long as incoming freshman Jason Parker did — he wasn't offered a grant until March of his senior year.
“If Carolina doesn't say anything, I'd try to wait it out a little bit,” Sherrill said. “But if they still didn't say anything and Kentucky gave me a call, I'd be interested.”
The most intriguing prospect may be Barrett, who appears to be the most available of the senior point guards and, if he were a few inches taller, might be regarded as the best.
None of his peers is more clearly in charge of his team, and he shoots as proficiently as any of them — 50 percent from three-point range through four games at the ABCD Camp. In five preliminary-round games, he led the camp in assists with a 9.6 average and scored 10.2 points a game.
He is becoming increasingly popular among college scouts and allowed his list of possible destinations to grow to 25.
“There was a group of schools I was interested in, and every tournament I go to and play well, it just expands,” Barrett said. “It just got out of control. I'm kind of stressed out. I've got to stay away from the phone.
“Right now, I think I can go anywhere. I just want to go to a place where I'm going to feel comfortable and I can stick with my decision, not have to transfer or anything.”
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