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Award-winning columnist Tom Archdeacon — an old-school storyteller in a brand-new venue — writes about sports, the city, southwest Ohio and anything else that catches his fancy… or yours.Home > Blogs > Through the Arch > Archives > 2008 > May > 01 > Entry
BLOG: Kentucky Wildcats Land Eighth Grader
How crazy is this?
According to the Louisville Courier Journal and Los Angeles Times, Michael Avery, a California eighth grade basketball player who doesn’t know where he’s going to high school next year already has picked his college.
It’s a college he’s never visited. He’ll be playing for a coach he’s supposedly never talked to in his life.
Thursday, he committed to the University of Kentucky.
Howard Avery, a California lawyer, said that his son’s recruitment happened by chance.
He said his son traveled to Culver Academy in Indiana to check out the school and, while there, he was invited to play with the Indiana Elite team at a tournament in Akron.
Gillespie was at the Akron event, told someone he liked the 6-foot-4 kid and Howard Avery heard about it. Although the tale seems a little far fetched to me, Avery supposedly called Gillespie and the coach offered the scholarship for the boy who’s still not sure if he’ll start ninth grade in California or Indiana next year.
“We were not interested in 200 different scholarship offers,” Avery told the Courier-Journal’s Jody Demling. “We just wanted one good one and a good coach and that came through, so we made the decision. We thought about it a lot.”
I’ll tell you one thing, I’m glad I’m not a college hoops coach these days. The pressure to get the jump on young talent has reached the absurd.
The only thing more extreme might be the Democratic presidential candidates trying to woo super delegates.
Hillary Clinton made the scene in Louisville Thursday and told the race-crazed masses here to do her a favor Saturday and “bet on the filly for me.”
She was talking about Eight Belles, the filly three year old, who, as it turns out, is about old enough to draw interest from guys like Gillespie.
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By Mike
May 2, 2008 8:40 AM | Link to this
I guess the hope is..he will be 7’0 275 lbs by the time he is a senior..lots can happen in the next few years..UK already has another 8th grader from Ashland,Ky. 6’8 Dakota Euton who comitted as well..I guess it called getting early dibbs!!By Huh
May 2, 2008 7:52 AM | Link to this
I would think this would violate an NCAA rule of some kind