Memphis added Jelan Kendrick to its recruiting haul for 2010.
Kendrick, a 6-foot-6 guard/small forward from Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler, joins Antonio Barton, Will Barton, Chris Crawford, Joe Jackson and Hippolyte Tsafack as members of head coach Josh Pastner’s first recruiting class.
He chose Memphis over Indiana, Alabama and Oregon.
Kendrick is ranked No. 2 among small forwards in the Class of 2010 by Rivals and No. 8 overall.
“Jelan fits in with the vision we have for the program on and off the court. At 6-foot-6, he adds tremendous size to our backcourt. Jelan is a very skilled, multi-dimensional guard who’s a very good passer and has a good feel for the game,” Pastner said.
Memphis’ class is ranked No. 2 by Rivals.com and No. 3 by ESPN.com.
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JessieWildcat / November 15, 2009
Very good pick up for Josh.
Did he just beat Kentucky Calicats for this recruit?
Josh will be a good coach within five years.
Maybe within five years, Memphis can make the final four.
Not bad —right pastaboy?
Note:
Hearing that Lamb enjoyed his visit.
But, there was no commitment.
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RockChalkWoody / November 15, 2009
Yeah, I’m sure UK fans are real worried. jessie, face it, the three best recruiters in the business right now are Calipari, Self, and Roy. UK, KU, and UNC will continue to land top talent every year.
As for Pastner being a good coach in 5 years–he better have a quicker timetable than that. Afterall, that’s a really good recruiting class and they play in that weak CUSA.
FYI look for his team to get run out of the building Tuesday night vs KU in St Louis.
Note:
Hearing that every recruit always loves every visit. Lamb is no different. Look for a spring commitment.
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Outsider / November 15, 2009
“Yeah, I’m sure UK fans are real worried. jessie, face it, the three best recruiters in the business right now are Calipari, Self, and Roy. UK, KU, and UNC will continue to land top talent every year.”
Considering the fact that Calipari has only signed one player in this early period, I am certain his assistants aren’t real comfortable right now. It had been reported on a number of sites that UK was heavy into Kendricks recruiting again but now that seems like it was a bust of a story. UK’s sense of entitlement is ridiculous when it comes to the players they think they will get year in and year out with Calipari. No recruit is a lock anywhere. Supposedly Barton to UK was a lock, look what happened. Kendrick was going to wait almost assuredly until the spring signing period, look what happened. Sure, Cal will get his fair share of players, but for you to make the comment that Self, Calipari and WIlliams are the top recruiters in the game right now, I do not agree with this. I am not ready to say Pastner is up there with them, but considering what he is done at Memphis with only having coached 1 game, pretty amazing stuff.
“FYI look for his team to get run out of the building Tuesday night vs KU in St Louis.”
Brilliant comment there genius. Way to kick a program while they are down for a year. No one expects Pastner or Memphis to keep this close. The fact that Pastner kept this game on the schedule for the school is more for exposure than a test to see how the team will play. I doubt any recruits in the country will look at this game with any significance whatsoever. It’s a down year for Memphis but they will be back in the near future.
I say all this not as a fan of Memphis but I feel for them with the situation their last coach left them. Cupboard bare, yet looks like it is being replenished more than adequately.
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RockChalkWoody / November 15, 2009
Blah blah blah…KU by 20+
The question shouldn’t be whether or not they can make a Final Four in five years–it should be whether or not they can retain a Final Four.
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mtiger25 / November 15, 2009
Woody, you are talking about a final four that should have gotten taken away from Kansas too. The name Darrell Auther ring a bell? His infraction was no worse than Derrick Rose’s, well actually it was because they actually proved he cheated. Either way what happened to Memphis last year was awful, and while Calipari was to blame for the best moments, he left a horrible final impression. While Kentucky may enjoy having the best recruiting class that I have ever seen, I like the inside out approach Pastner is bringing to the city. KU, UK, and UNC have a lot more going in their favor than the coach when recruiting, but the job Pastner is doing has to be impressive when you look at his lack of experience. He is also getting Good kids that the fans will embrace, and I can’t say Calipari did the same.
Also remember that Memphis would have had an even better class than Kentucky because Wall was going to come and Xavier Henry had already signed so it must be something about the City. 6 players signed already 1 open scholarship, and look out for the 2011 class which may include Adonis Thomas, LaQuinton Ross, O’Bryant, or Ky Warren. All of this in a Non BCS conference.
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jhawk4 / November 15, 2009
They proved arthur cheated? really? They couldnt prove anything in that case, the case was dismissed and the high school isnt taking any diplomas away, so Arthur is still eligible. It is a non issue. im tired of memphis (or any) fans trying to make this a big deal when its not.
for the record, i think memphis should have been able to keep their final four, the NCAA needs to find a new punishment.
i also am going to disagree with the city being the big draw to memphis. Calipari is the reason memphis was slated to have such a good class. if they committed because they liked the city they wouldn’t have lost all those recruits.
I think pastner is doing a fantastic job of recruiting. for memphis’s sake, i hope he is a good X’s and O’s coach too. good luck on tuesday, hopefully nobody gets hurt and its a good game.
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ksdksdksd / November 15, 2009
Note to jhawk4 & RockChalkIHaveAWoody:
(Wolken) Bill Self has FOUR players at Kansas who at one point had signed LOIs with Memphis: The Henrys and the Morris twins.
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RockChalkWoody / November 15, 2009
Geez, that will really suck on Tuesday night when you see the Twins and the Henrys wearing Crimson and Blue, huh?
mtiger25, I never said anything negative about Pastner. The guy walked into a tough situation and has done a remarkable job in recruiting.
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ksdksdksd / November 15, 2009
Hey RockChalkWoody,
I’ll be watching the game with a friend from Kansas (it took a lot in me to do it). Kansas is pretty good, but I know the score will be closer than most people think. I am not a hater I just hate this BCS conference crap (as if being in a BCS conference automatically makes a team better). However, if Memphis was allowed into the Big East I would probably biased as well. The Tigers will surprise this year. GO TIGERS!!!
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RockChalkWoody / November 16, 2009
ksdksdksd, good luck Tuesday night. Since it’s a 9pm tip I hope it’s close (otherwise we’ll lose the East Coast viewers to sleep).
Yeah, Kansas is “pretty good” this year. The Tigers might surprise, but not in this game.
If Pastner can coach you guys ought to be set up for great things in about 2 yrs.
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m_cat96 / November 16, 2009
Jessie –
To clarify about Kendrick, he LISTED Kentucky, but never visited there. To my knowledge, Calipari never even visited him once he left Memphis. Yes, Cal recruited him while at UM, and Pastner did as well. It was speculated that if his recruitment went into the spring, Kentucky could become a player.
Pastner has done a great job of closing down several recruits Caliapri and his staff were working on. 3 top kids will certainly get them back in the mix.
Cats are locked on Leslie, Harris, Knight, Selby, Lamb, and Jones. There are some other kids out there in the mix, but those are back up plans.
As far as being worried about 1 commit, I don’t think any rational UK fan expected more. We have tons of depth and it is unsure who will go pro early next year. Why commit and shut the door on future opps ? Spring signing is becoming more popular than ever.
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