Coach John Calipari was set to welcome the No. 1 recruiting class in the country to Memphis next season. The class included McDonald's All-Americans DeMarcus Cousins and Xavier Henry, and Calipari was still recruiting John Wall, who is considered the best high school point guard in the country. Cousins has yet to sign with the Tigers, and the (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reported that the four other players in the Memphis class signed an addendum in their letters of intent that would release them from their commitments if Calipari left the school. Here's a look at the Memphis and Kentucky recruits for next season:
Memphis recruits
DEMARCUS COUSINS
Status: Committed to Memphis; not signed
Position: Forward/Center
Rivals: No. 2 overall, No. 1 PF
Scout: No. 6 overall, No. 2 C
Last school: LeFlore High (Mobile, Ala.)
Height, weight: 6-9, 245
2008-09 stats: 24 ppg, 13 rpg, 5 spg
JOHN WALL
Status: Uncommitted; Memphis on short list
Position: Point guard
Rivals: No. 1 overall, No. 1 PG
Scout: No. 2 overall, No. 1 PG
Last school: Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.)
Height, weight: 6-4, 175
2008-09 stats: 21 ppg, 9 apg, 7 rpg
Note: The top uncommitted player in the country, his short list includes Memphis, Duke, Baylor, Kansas, Miami (Fla.) and North Carolina State.
XAVIER HENRY
Status: Signed with Memphis
Position: Shooting guard
Rivals: No. 3 overall, No. 1 SG
Scout: No. 4 overall, No. 1 SG
Last school: Putnam City High (Oklahoma City)
Height, weight: 6-6, 210
2008-09 stats: 28 ppg, 7 rpg, 3 spg
Note: ESPN's top-rated recruit for the 2009 class; his brother is a freshman point guard at Memphis.
NOLAN DENNIS
Status: Signed with Memphis
Position: Shooting guard
Rivals: No. 47 overall, No. 11 SG
Scout: No. 46 overall, No. 10 SG
Last school: North Richland Hills (Richland, Texas)
Height, weight: 6-5, 185
2008-09 stats: 21 ppg, 10 rpg, 3.5 apg
WILL COLEMAN
Status: Signed with Memphis
Position: Power forward
Rivals: Unranked (4-star recruit)
Scout: Unranked (3-star recruit)
Last school: Miami Dade Community College
Height, weight: 6-9, 230
2008-09 stats: 10.5 ppg, 8 rpg, 5 bpg
Note: Junior-college player has two more years of eligibility.
DARNELL DODSON
Status: Signed with Memphis
Position: Small forward
Rivals: Unranked (4-star recruit)
Scout: Unranked (3-star recruit)
Last school: Miami Dade Community College
Height, weight: 6-8, 180
2008-09 stats: 16 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 34 percent three-point shooting
Note: Junior-college player has three more years of eligibilityKentucky recruits
DANIEL ORTON
Status: Signed with Kentucky
Position: Center
Rivals: No. 22 overall, No. 3 C
Scout: No. 12 overall, No. 3 C
Last school: Bishop McGuinness (Oklahoma City)
Height, weight: 6-10, 260
2008-09 stats: Missed regular season because of knee injury
Note: After Billy Gillispie's firing, Orton's father said he would "wait and see" who the next coach would be before making a decision.
JON HOOD
Status: Signed with Kentucky
Position: Guard/Forward
Rivals: No. 32 overall, No. 7 SG
Scout: No. 36 overall, No. 8 SF
Last school: Madisonville (Madisonville, Ky.)
Height, weight: 6-6, 185
2008-09 stats: 29 ppg, 13 rpg
Note: After Gillispie's firing, Hood's father said he would wait for UK to name a replacement before making a decision.
G.J. VILARINO
Status: Signed with Kentucky
Position: Point guard
Rivals: Unranked (3-star recruit)
Scout: Unranked (No. 30 PG)
Last school: McKinney (McKinney, Texas)
Height, weight: 6-0, 160
2008-09 stats: 20 ppg, 5 rpg, 4 apg
Note: After Gillispie's firing, Vilarino's father told the Herald-Leader he would "be surprised if G.J. would want to be anything but a Wildcat."
KONNER TUCKER
Status: Committed to Kentucky; not signed
Position: Shooting guard
Rivals: Unranked
Scout: Unranked (1-star recruit)
Last school: Lon Morris Junior College (Jacksonville, Texas)
Height, weight: 6-2, 175
2008-09 stats: 16.2 ppg, 3 apg, 42 percent three-point shooting
Note: Junior-college player has three more years of eligibility
KYRYL NATYAZHKO
Status: Uncommitted; Kentucky on short list
Position: Center
Rivals: No. 75 overall, No. 9 C
Scout: No. 69 overall, No. 10 C
Last school: IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Height, weight: 6-10, 250
2008-09 stats: 24 ppg, 9 rpg
Note: Short list includes UK, Arizona State, Pittsburgh, Xavier, Florida State and Miami
ERIC BLEDSOE
Status: Uncommitted; Kentucky on short list
Position: Point guard
Rivals: No. 67 overall (No. 12 PG)
Scout: No. 73 overall (No. 8 PG)
Last school: Parker High (Birmingham, Ala.)
Height, weight: 6-0, 160
2008-09 stats: 20 ppg, 11.5 apg, 9.5 rpg
Note: Short list includes UK, Duke, Florida, UAB and Rutgers
Ben Roberts
