Entering Tuesday night, both Kentucky and Kentucky-bound point guard Isaiah Briscoe were undefeated.
It was at least theoretically possible that both the Wildcats and Roselle (N.J.) Catholic could finish the season unbeaten.
But while Kentucky routed Missouri at home, RC, the No. 2 high school team in the nation according to USA Today, lost at rival Linden, 75-61, for their second straight defeat at the New Jersey public school.
Kentucky coach John Calipari traded good-natured shots with ESPN’s Dick Vitale during halftime of Kentucky’s 86-37 domination of Missouri Tuesday night.
At halftime, Calipari told ESPN’s Shannon Spake that he is back to using his platoon system, which he temporarily shelved after the Alex Poythress injury.
“I went back to full platoons,” said Calipari, whose team improved to 16-0. “Five-on-five, five in, five out, hasn’t hurt our rhythm. I know Dickie V, who got fired as a coach by the way, is talking about rhythm. It hasn’t hurt our rhythm. And what it does is it adds energy. And the guys on the bench know when they’re going in, so they’re ready.
St. John’s is “strongly in the mix” for Greek 7-footer Georgios Papagiannis, projected as the No. 13 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by DraftExpress.com, a source close to the situation told SNY.tv.
The source said Papagiannis will visit St. John’s at some point.
The 7-foot-1 Papagiannis signed a multi-year deal with Greek champion Panathinaikos but reportedly has the option to return to the States this summer.
After scoring a major recruiting victory on Monday, St. John’s is now looking to get a win on the court 48 hours later at Providence.
The Johnnies (11-4, 0-3 Big East) on Monday landed Louisiana shooting guard Brandon Sampson as their second recruit in the Class of 2015, temporarily halting some of the negative press they’re received in that regard.
On the court, Steve Lavin’s club has dropped three games in a row and on Monday fell out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll after peaking at No. 15.
BY CHIP MILLER
PADUCAH, Ky. – Huntington Prep (W.V.) 2016 five-star wing Miles Bridges struggled with his offense in the Saturday night session at McCracken County Mustang Madness.
“I couldn’t get anything going offensively, but my defense, I felt I played pretty good,” Bridges said. “Malik [Newman] only scored like three points on me. He was getting points off the line and stuff and we couldn’t rebound, so that’s why we lost.”
Bridges finished the night with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in 31 minutes of play while Newman went for 35 points, 14 rebounds and 2 steals in 31 minutes of play as Callaway upset Huntington Prep, 72-66.
Findlay Prep point guard Derryck Thornton is on Kentucky’s campus for Tuesday’s SEC game against Missouri.
The 6-foot Thornton is a top priority for Kentucky coach John Calipari in the Class of 2016. Kentucky also hosts 2016 New Zealand power forward Tai Wynyard, who will also visit Villanova and Texas this week, and 2015 Huntington (W.V.) Prep big man Thomas Bryant, whom Calipari watched last weekend in Kentucky.
Thornton currently averages 17.6 points and 7.3 assists, while running a Findlay Prep team that is 16-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation by both USA Today and MaxPreps.
“Derryck has been playing great!” Findlay coach Andy Johnson told SNY.tv. “He’s one of the leaders of our team. He’s one of the hardest workers in Findlay Prep program history. He does an amazing job running our team. He’s the complete package as a player.”
By CHIP MILLER
PADUCAH, K. – Roger Murray, the father of 2016 Orangeville Prep (Ontario) shooting guard Jamal Murray, told SNY.tv at the McCracken County Mustang Madness that reclassification is still a real possibility for his son.
Murray is currently the No. 11 shooting guard in the Class of 2016, according to 247Sports.com. He and his Orangeville Prep teammates will be on display Saturday evening at the Big Apple Basketball Invitational at Baruch College.
“It’s still in the mix, it’s out there, but we’re not putting any emphasis on it right now,” the elder Murray said of reclassifying. “We are going to see how the season ends and where he is at and where he feels. If it’s a good situation where it makes sense, then obviously [we would reclassify]. But he’s in no rush.”
