1. After beating eighth-ranked Florida on Saturday, Kansas State made its debut in the AP Top 25 poll on Monday, coming in at #25. Oklahoma State jumped from #24 to #22, and Kansas\’ road win at Ohio State vaulted the Jayhawks from ninth to sixth in this week\’s poll. With the Cowboys off this week and only American and UMKC on the schedules of Kansas and Kansas State, respectively, all three teams should remain ranked into the new year.
2. Last week, Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated wrote about his favorite college basketball stories of 2012. Not surprisingly, Kansas\’ 87-86 overtime win over Missouri on February 28 made the list. Missouri won the first meeting at home and held a 19-point second half lead in Allen Fieldhouse, shocking the 16,300 Kansas fans into silence. As everyone remembers, Kansas came back, forced overtime, and won possibly the greatest game the border rivals had ever played. Now with Missouri in the SEC, that rivalry is on hold probably until the teams are someday matched up in the NCAA Tournament.
3. Jeff Goodman and Gary Parrish listed their 10 National Player of the Year Candidates yesterday on CBSSports.com, and Kansas center Jeff Withey came in currently at No. 4. They call him \”arguably\” the best defensive big man in the nation, but you would be hard pressed to find anyone in the post better defensively. He is averaging 8.3 RPG and 5.0 BPG to go along with his 14.1 PPG. He leads the country with 3.9 blocks per foul and has yet to commit more than three fouls in a single game this year, meaning that he\’s on the floor when KU needs him the most.
4. High school superstar Shabazz Muhammad has yet to live up to his preseason hype, but he finally cracked the CBSSports.com Freshman of the Year watch yesterday at No. 5. The Big 12 has two of the five representatives on the list: Kansas guard Ben McLemore is second after scoring 22 points and six rebounds in Saturday\’s 74-66 win over Ohio State. He is averaging 16.5 PPG on the season. Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart follows McLemore at third, averaging 12.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 5.1 APG. He is also averaging 2.7 SPG and has led the Cowboys to a 10-1 record so far this season.
5. Jay Bilas has never been afraid to voice his displeasure with the NCAA, and Saturday\’s broadcast of Texas-Michigan State was no different. Before the game the NCAA had announced that sophomore point guard Myck Kabongo\’s season-long suspension had been reduced to 23 games. As usual, Bilas held nothing back with his criticism, noted here in a USA Today article from the weekend. Kabongo will be eligible to return on February 13 against Iowa State, and whether that is too late to mesh with his teammates remains to be seen.

David Cassilo is an RTC columnist who also writes about college basketball for SLAM magazine. You can follow him at @dcassilo.

The holidays are always a good time to take a breath and reassess the entire country in college basketball. What is out there is a lot of uncertainty, especially in terms of title contenders. Is there really much that separates No. 1 Duke from No. 9 Kansas or even No. 24 Oklahoma State? But in terms of our races, it’s pretty clear that the field is chasing Mason Plumlee for Player of the Year, Anthony Bennett for Freshman of the Year and Mike Krzyzewski for Coach of the Year. All three have been nothing short of stellar from the opening tip. While parity is fun, there’s nothing better than watching the field try to hunt down the favorite.

And now, a look at those fields.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

10. Brandon Paul – Illinois (Last Week – 10)
2012-13 stats: 18.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.5 APG

Paul showed his versatility for a guard by grabbing a season-high nine rebounds against Eastern Kentucky last Sunday. The craziest thing about the Illinois senior is that while he would be a frontrunner for the top player in any other conference, it’ll be a fight to even make the All-Big Ten team. This week: December 22 vs. Missouri

9. C.J. McCollum – Lehigh (Last Week – 6)
2012-13 stats: 24.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.1 APG

Not much to write as McCollum missed his only game this week with an ankle inury. He’s day-to-day, so he shouldn’t miss much time. This week: None

8. Michael Carter-Williams – Syracuse (Last Week – 8)
2012-13 stats: 12.3 PPG, 5 RPG, 10.7 APG, 3.4 SPG

Michael Carter-Williams Has Been a Revelation This Season

It was a typical two games this week for Carter-Williams. The assists were there but so were the missed shots and turnovers. The fact that Jim Boeheim is tolerating the latter two is a good indication of how special this kid is. This week: December 22 vs. Temple

7. Jeff Withey – Kansas (Last Week – 8)
2012-13 stats: 14.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 5.4 BPG

Despite all the defensive accolades he receives, Withey’s offense cannot be overlooked. Make no mistake, he is a focal point of what the Jayhawks want to do, as he’s attempted at least eight shots in all but two games this season. The senior had 17 points and 13 rebounds against Richmond on Tuesday. This week: December 22 at Ohio State

6. Cody Zeller – (Last week – 3)
2012-13 stats: 15.7 PPG, 8.3 PPG

The loss against Butler is the type of game Zeller is supposed to take over and will his team to victory. Instead, he made just four shots from he floor and grabbed five rebounds. It’s safe to say that he has not taken a leap forward in his sophomore season. This week: December 21 vs. Florida Atlantic

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1. Here’s some news we’ve been waiting to hear all season long. According to a Yahoo! Sports report, the NCAA will suspend Texas guard Myck Kabongo for the remainder of the season. As the article notes, most cases involving players and impermissible benefits result in a three to 10-game suspension followed by a repayment of the benefits. However, the NCAA believes Kabongo provided false information in his interview and has decided to end his sophomore season before it even began. Javan Felix has done a solid job in Kabongo’s place this season by averaging 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, which is good for second in the Big 12. Can’t make excuses for Texas anymore.
   
2. Just as the Kabongo news was breaking, Texas was putting the finishing touches on a wire-to-wire blowout of North Carolina, 85-67, at the Frank Erwin Center in downtown Austin. I happened to be in attendance at the game last night and to be honest, I was expecting the Horns to cool off from their hot start and Carolina to eventually take control of the basketball game. I prepared myself for this to happen but it never did. Both teams were sloppy with the basketball all game long and it felt like I was watching two AAU teams who were wrongfully wearing burnt orange and Carolina blue. Here’s an encouraging tidbit from last night’s game: The Longhorns bettered their season scoring high by 10 points, knocking off the 75-point mark set last game vs Texas State. Maybe, finally, this team is turning the corner offensively. Our eyeballs thank you.
3. TCU announced that guard Jarvis Ray will be out for the next six to eight weeks after suffering a leg injury in Tuesday’s game versus Southern. After a jump shot, Ray came down awkwardly on a defender’s foot and is now the third Horned Frog to miss significant time due to injury; junior Amric Fields and freshman Aaron Durley are the other two. TCU was picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 anyway so it’s not as if we’re losing a possible tournament team. Trent Johnson’s group knows that this is a do your best kind of season. At least you can’t fall any further than rock bottom. 
   
4. A day after posting an article about Le’Bryan Nash playing down to his competition, Oklahoma State beat up on UT-Arlington 69-44 in Stillwater. The statistical line of the game goes once again to Marcus Smart, who scored 10 points (on four shot attempts), grabbed four rebounds, dished out five assists, and had four steals. And what about Nash? 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting. In reality the entire Cowboy team probably didn’t care about this game that much. At halftime, coach Travis Ford said that Oklahaoma State really has “a lot of respect for UT-San Antonio.” Speak for yourself, coach.
5. After Saturday’s loss to Michigan, West Virginia coach Bob Huggins complained about his team in front of the media. It appears now that his Mountaineer players understand his frustration and are trying to do something about it. The super early return on his investment is looking pretty good so far with West Virginia defeating Oakland 76-71 last night. They hit better than 50% of their shots as a team and made eight threes. Aaric Murray returned from a one-game suspension to drop 12 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and blocked five shots. Maybe this is the week that Texas and WVU have chosen to do complete 180s. Good idea.

1. Yesterday I talked about the success Oklahoma had in Saturday’s win over Texas A&M when the Sooners went on a important 8-0 second half run using a four-guard lineup. Well, they probably could have used some of that last night. The Sooners fell to Stephen F. Austin by a score of 56-55, making this OU’s first non-conference loss in Norman since 2007 (coincidentally enough to these same Lumberjacks). OU led 30-26 at halftime but SFA came out on a 19-4 run to start the second half and led by as many as 11 points. The Sooners then countered with an 18-6 spurt to take a brief 52-51 lead, but OU’s Buddy Hield had a chance to possibly force overtime with four seconds left but obviously he didn’t. I don’t think we’ll see a whole lot of OU-SFA games again in the future.
2. The struggles of Rodney McGruder in Bruce Weber’s brand-new motion offense are well documented, which makes last night’s performance against Texas Southern all the more encouraging. K-State won the game but McGruder lit up the Tigers for 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting. If the Cats want to do anything in March, much less Big 12 play, the senior McGruder needs to be at the top of his game this season. One fun note from this game: Former Oklahoma State and current Texas Southern guard Ray Penn made the most of his return to a Big 12 arena, pouring in 24 points and dishing out five assists in the defeat.
3. If you’re a fan of Big 12 basketball as a whole, there hasn’t been much to stick your chest out about this year. But I found something to be proud of: all the über-talented freshmen. CBSSports.com ranked the top five freshmen in college basketball and two of them hail from the Big 12. Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart has arguably become the most versatile freshman point guard in the country, or maybe just point guard, period, in America by putting together averages of 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals per contest. The newbie on this week’s list at number three is Ben McLemore from Kansas. The St. Louis native has had an impressive three game stretch against Oregon State, Colorado and Belmont by averaging 20.7 points per game which includes 9-of-15 shooting from behind the arc. Freshmen — this is our silver lining.
4. “I don’t know about my teammates but I play at the level of the competition.” That quote is the last thing you want to hear if you’re a coach or fan but it comes from Oklahoma State’s LeBryan Nash. If I may play Devil’s Advocate, can you blame him? The Cowboys are 8-1, with quality wins, a Top 25 ranking, and talent everywhere. But if there’s a time to not slack off, it’s now. They have UT-Arlington and Tennessee Tech on the schedule before playing Gonzaga on New Year’s Eve prior to Big 12 play. Nash said that he wants to change his attitude of playing down to teams, though. The first step in dealing with a problem is acknowledging that there is one to begin with. Now prove it.
5. Here’s a weekly favorite of mine — and it should be yours too. Gary Parrish’s Poll Attacks spotlights the horrible mistakes writers and coaches make on their Top 25 ballots. This week, there’s some confusion as to why a certain Big 12 team received two votes from coaches that didn’t even deserve one. If there’s just one vote, it probably looks like a mistake. But a second vote makes you think otherwise.

David Cassilo is an RTC columnist who also writes about college basketball for SLAM magazine. You can follow him at @dcassilo.

Farewell, Big East. As a Villanova grad who grew up in New Jersey, you were always close to my heart. I’ll miss the prime time Saturday night final. I’ll miss the coaching legends. I’ll miss the physical play that would be called for a foul in any other league. I’ll miss the afternoon games of the Big East Tournament. I’ll miss being sponsored by Aeropostale. I’ll miss record crowds at the Carrier Dome. I’ll miss seeing Carnesecca and his sweater sitting behind the St. John’s bench. I’ll miss Mick Cronin being displeased with his team. I’ll miss West Virginia fans throwing stuff. I’ll miss looking at the newspaper and saying, “Wow, DePaul won.” I’ll miss Madison Square Garden. I’ll miss the weird dimensions of the RAC. I’ll miss Seton Hall thinking its good. I’ll miss Providence’s mascot. I’ll miss UConn breaking the rules. I’ll miss Pitt’s illegal screens and 30-year old point guards. I’ll miss Boston College, Virginia Tech and Miami. I’ll miss Pitino’s press conferences. I’ll miss people saying Villanova is Guard U when it rarely sends a guard to the NBA. I’ll miss Georgetown running the Princeton offense. I’ll miss the overachievers at Notre Dame and Marquette. I’ll miss that time South Florida was good. I’ll even miss the double bye, Burr and Higgins. Now let’s end this league in style.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

10. Brandon Paul – Illinois (Last Week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 19 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.5 APG

Brandon Paul tore apart Gonzaga. (Joe Robbins/Getty)

With 35 points at Gonzaga last Saturday, Paul officially declared his candidacy in the Player of the Year race. The major improvement in his game this year comes down to his shooting. He never cracked 40 percent from the field in his first three years but is up to 46.8 percent this season.This week: December 16 vs. Eastern Kentucky

9. Michael Carter-Williams – Syracuse (Last Week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 12.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 10.4 APG, 3.8 SPG

There’s no doubt that Carter-Williams does more to fill up the stat sheet than any player in the country, but it’s his passing that has been second to none. He leads the nation in APG and has 37 dimes in his last three games. A high turnover rate (3.8 per game) and poor three-point shooting (22.2 percent) hold him back from challenging for the top spot. This week: December 15 vs. Canisius, December 17 vs. Temple

8. Jeff Withey – Kansas (Last Week – 7)
2012-13 stats: 13.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 5.6 BPG

After blocking five shots against Colorado last Saturday, Withey has swatted the ball at least that many times in six of his team’s eight games. His defensive dominance coupled with the rise of freshman Ben McLemore has the Jayhawks thinking of a return to the title game. This week: December 15 vs. Belmont, December 18 vs. Richmond

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1. You can file this into the Won’t Ever Happen In Our Lifetime category, but at least one random writer wants Bill Self to make the jump to the NBA ranks. Could Self coach the Washington Wizards? The argument here is that the Wizards are a younger team who may respond to his college-style tactics. Again, this simply will not happen, and it’s hard to fathom Self ever leaving his cushy, high-paying job at one of the top programs in college basketball. But it’s fun to think about. As is usually the case, Self’s success at the NBA level would entirely depend on the team around him. The failures of college-to-pro coaches almost always hinge on the personnel — the NBA is unquestionably a players’ league.
2. It’s easy to see Texas‘ flaws without looking at the numbers, but just for kicks, here’s a look at how the Longhorns’ horrendous statistics this season break down. Interestingly, Rick Barnes’ team actually took care of the ball better against UCLA by only turning it over on 15 percent of their possessions. Overall, though, it’s been a recurring problem, and this site does a great job of analyzing Texas’ true shooting percentage so far this year. Whether you embrace voodoo-like sabermetrics or not, the numbers are not pretty.
3. Kansas State missed its chance against Michigan. Now, the Wildcats have a make-or-break non-conference stretch, starting with a date against Gonzaga this weekend. The Zags dropped a home game to Illinois last weekend, but this game will be played in Seattle’s Key Arena on a semi-neutral floor. As assistant coach Chris Lowery puts it, “at least we’re not in The Kennel.” That’s for sure, no matter what happened against Illinois. Just ask West Virginia.
4. Korie Lucious will probably be fine. It hasn’t been a terrific start for the Iowa State point guard, though. Get this: So far this year, he’s turned the ball over more times than any other player in a major conference. He’s sitting at 41 turnovers over 10 games, to be exact, and that’s hardly what Fred Hoiberg thought he’d get out of the Michigan State transfer. As this article points out, this is a new responsibility and leadership role for Lucious, so give him a little time to adjust before blaming him for all of the Cyclones’ woes.
5. Marcus Smart, on the other hand, hasn’t needed to adjust at all as a freshman at Oklahoma State. Smart has done absolutely everything we all predicted him to do. We said Smart was a high-IQ, high intangibles guy, and he’s been that. We said he’d be dynamic. He’s done that, too. He’s scored, passed, rebounded, played hard and looks like the kind of game-changing player Travis Ford has been waiting for. No wonder the Cowboys look like a Big 12 contender just one year after finishing below .500.

David Cassilo is an RTC columnist who also writes about college basketball for SLAM magazine. You can follow him at @dcassilo.

What do we do about Cody Zeller? That’s what we’re asking after his second game this season with fewer than 10 points. The preseason pick for Player of the Year has simply not been the monster in the middle that was expected, but he hasn’t been a disappointment either. We’ll start with the bad. He’s scored 20 or more points just twice in eight games and is averaging a pedestrian 15 PPG and 7.6 RPG this season. You’ll find about 100 players with numbers like that. Now the good. He’s shooting 63.2 percent from the field and his numbers are almost identical to his stellar freshman season. To be honest though, Zeller is likely staying as high as he is on this list based on expectation. But now we’re giving him one final chance. If he doesn’t break out by the end of December, he’ll be off the top 10 list.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

10. Elias Harris – Gonzaga (Last Week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 16.8 PPG, 8.1 RPG

Harris has Gonzaga thinking national title. (AP)

As a senior, Harris is finally coming into his own in all areas of the game. That has especially been true for his offense. After a slow start, he’s scored at least 16 points in five of his last six games. As Gonzaga continues to win, his candidacy will pick up steam. This week: December 8 vs. Illinois

9. Isaiah Canaan – Murray State (Last Week – 7)
2012-13 stats: 21.4 PGG, 3.7 RPG, 3.9 APG

With one game this past week against an NAIA opponent, Canaan essentially had an off week. His slight fall down the rankings has more to do with the other players on the list than with himself. Canaan’s biggest challenge for the rest of the season will be playing well enough to overshadow his weak competition. This week: December 8 at Evansville

8. C.J. McCollum – Lehigh (Last Week – 3)
2012-13 stats: 24.4 PPG, 5.0 RP, 3.2 APG

We’ve said all season that if a player from a conference like the Patriot League is going to win this, he needs to be beyond spectacular. McCollum has been close to that, but performances like the 13 points he put up against Fordham in his last game won’t cut it. Chances are we’ll see another 30-point game from him soon enough, though. This week: December 8 vs. St. Francis (Pa.)

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Welcome to our second installment of the Big 12 Conference Call here on the microsite. Danny (@dspewak), Kory (@Kory_Carpenter) and Nate (@natekotisso) are back to answer the tough questions in the league, and lord knows there’s plenty of them. Today, they’ll discuss Baylor’s struggles, Colorado’s return to Allen Fieldhouse, sixth man of the year as of now and much more. 

As Drunk Joe Namath would say, Big 12 basketball is “struh-guh-ling.”

Here are this week’s five questions:

1. The Big 12 has only two teams ranked in the AP and coaches’ polls. What do we make of this?
2. Colorado will make its first return to Allen Fieldhouse Saturday since leaving for the Pac-12. Will the Buffs beat KU?
3. Which Baylor team are we going to see more of this season, the team that lost to College of Charleston and Northwestern at home or the team that ended Kentucky’s 55-game home winning streak?
4. If you had to pick a sixth man of the year right now, who would it be?
5. If there was a non-conference game with a Big 12 team you’d like to see live, which would it be?

***

1. The Big 12 has only two teams ranked in the AP and coaches’ polls. What do we make of this?

• Danny Spewak: It’s been a difficult first few weeks for the Big 12. Texas has crashed and burned without Myck Kabongo. Baylor, save for that win at struggling Kentucky, has been perplexing. Kansas State had only one attempt to prove itself on a major stage, and it lost to Michigan by double-digits. At this point, you’ve had only one team overachieve (Oklahoma State) and really only one team (Kansas) play to expectations. Thus, two representatives in the Top 25.
• Kory Carpenter: Baylor would have been firmly in the Top 25 had they not lost to the College of Charleston. Coupled with the losses to Colorado and Northwestern and it doesn’t make up for the nice win over Kentucky on the road. No one else on the outside of the Top 25 has beaten a team with a pulse. Oklahoma’s best win is over an awful West Virginia team, Kansas State’s crowning jewel is a three-point win over Delaware, and Iowa State lost to the two ranked teams they’ve played. Until the resumes improve, there’s no reason any of the other eight teams should be ranked.
• Nate Kotisso: You guys hit the nail on the head. Other than Oklahoma State, the Big 12 has floundered in important non-conference games. Watching Baylor defeat Kentucky on Saturday was more about UK losing than the Bears winning. Kentucky had 16 more offensive rebounds and turned the ball over fewer times than Baylor, yet their horrid shooting lost the game. K-State still has tests coming later in the month and with Rodney McGruder playing better, there’s a chance for them to slide into the rankings before New Year’s. Oklahoma is 6-2 but they have yet to register an impressive win outside of West Virginia. And geez the Mountaineers are a whole other story. But you gotta stay positive, you guys.

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1. As a five-star recruit, Oklahoma State freshman point guard Marcus Smart received plenty of fanfare before beginning his college career last month. But as Ryan Fagan of The Sporting News points out, Oklahoma State’s 20-point win over then No. 6 North Carolina State last month in the Puerto Rico Tip-off is when Smart’s name really became known across the country. Last night, he helped the Cowboys improve to 6-1 with a win over South Florida in Stillwater, a game in which Smart had 15 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals, and two blocks. In just six short weeks, all of the “potential” is gone. Smart is great. He’s one of the best, if not the best, freshmen in the country and one of the best point guards, too. And with an easy schedule the rest of December leading up to a New Year’s Eve home game against No. 10 Gonzaga, Smart may soon be leading a top 10 team when Big 12 play begins in January.
2. For every Marcus Smart, there are usually about 10 Perry Ellises. Ellis won four consecutive Kansas state titles in high school and was a McDonald’s All-American last year, but he has been lost in the shuffle of the Jayhawks’ lineup a bit early on this season. It’s not a surprise that senior forward Kevin Young is starting at the four spot ahead of him, not in Bill Self’s system. Self loves having experience on the floor, and Ellis as a young first-year player is still adjusting to the college game. He’s playing 16 MPG this season and averaging 6.4 PPG and 4.0 RPG, and he reminds me of former Jayhawk forward Wayne Simien, a great four-year player at Kansas. Ellis and Simien’s freshmen numbers aren’t far off each other right now, either. Simien averaged 15.3 MPG, 8.1 PPG, and 5.3 RPG as a freshman in 2001-02.
3. Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com unveiled another 2013 NBA mock draft, and four Big 12 players made his first round predictions: Baylor forward Isaiah Austin (7th), Kansas guard Ben McLemore (15th), Oklahoma State guard Le’Bryan Nash (16th), and Kansas center Jeff Withey (21st). Baylor point guard Pierre Jackson led off the second round at 31st, followed by West Virginia center Aaric Murrary (41st), Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart (47th), and Texas guard Myck Kabongo (53rd). It’s hard to imagine Murray leaving a year early if he is indeed projected that low, but a year struggling in a new system could sway his decision. I don’t see a scenario where two underclassmen like Smart and Kabongo leave to be picked in the second round, not with the potential to climb up these sort of lists in the next few years. Isaiah Austin looks like a bust at No. 7, and Jeff Withey and Pierre Jackson are NBA wildcards in my mind. But McLemore and Nash both look like solid picks, especially in the middle of the first round. Both players have the size and speed to excel at the next level.
4. Jeff Eisenberg at Yahoo! Sports made a list of teams who have failed to live up to expectations this season, and not surprisingly, two Big 12 teams are mentioned: West Virginia and Texas. Making its debut in a new conference, it was hard to judge just how much of an impact the Mountaineers would have this season, but I didn’t think they’d be this bad. Losing on the road to Gonzaga isn’t terrible. Getting ripped by 34 to Gonzaga, or anyone, for that matter, is terrible. And as Eisenberg writes, that still isn’t as bad as losing to Davidson and Oklahoma. For Texas, at least they have somewhat of an excuse while awaiting the return of sophomore point guard Myck Kabongo. But if the Longhorns want an NCAA Tournament invitation, they better hope Kabongo is really, really good this season, because he has a lot of holes to fill. Teams who are only missing a single piece typically don’t put up 41 points against Georgetown.
5. If you like second-level stats, Sport’s Illustrated‘s Luke Winn is your guy. Yesterday, Winn updated his weekly power rankings. Unfortunately for every Big 12 school not named Kansas, Winn only discusses his 16 best teams in the country, in which Kansas stayed at No. 9 on his list. Wynn rounds out his top 32 at the bottom of the column, however, and Oklahoma State and Kansas State come in at 25th and 26th. I’m not sold on Kansas State, but with Oklahoma State’s schedule this month, they should climb in every poll until that meeting with Gonzaga, with a win in that game vaulting the Cowboys to the top 10 early in 2013.

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to discussing the recruitments of the top uncommitted players in the country. We also encourage you to check out his contributions dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Note: ESPN Recruiting used for all player rankings

Kentucky Lands Top Sophomore Karl Towns, Jr.

Right on cue. Tuesday was considered decision day for Karl Towns, Jr. and as expected by virtually everybody that follows high school basketball recruiting, Kentucky was the choice. Previously the nation’s No. 1 sophomore, Towns also revealed that he would be reclassifying into the class of 2014, a move that had been speculated upon for the past couple of weeks. The 6’11” center out of St. Joseph High School (New Jersey) unofficially visited Kentucky for its game against LIU-Brooklyn on November 23, just days after revealing his announcement, further enforcing the belief that Kentucky was the front-runner in this recruitment. Towns had limited his list down to eight in the coming weeks before narrowing it down to two just prior to the announcement. He chose the Wildcats over Duke, with the likes of Florida, Indiana, Michigan State, North Carolina State and Seton Hall also in the mix. “The first thing I have to say is that I’m going to reclassify to the year 2014,” the 17-year old Towns said. “The second decision I have to make is my university. The university I’ve decided to play for in the year 2014 is the University of Kentucky.”

Standout sophomore Karl Towns, Jr. becomes the fifth Kentucky commitment in the last two months

Towns has already gained valuable tutelage under his future collegiate head coach John Calipari while he was a member of the Dominican Republic national team over the summer. His participation allowed him the opportunity to hone his skills and to strengthen an ever-growing post game against players at the professional level, including Dominican Republic teammate and Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford. Along with a refined post game, what really grabs the attention of analysts is Towns’ ability to play on the wing. With arguably the best outside skill set of any high school prospect at his position in the country, he is a constant threat from deep. He is consistent from three and is capable of taking opposing defenders off the dribble with either hand and scoring from the mid-range. His all-around game has drawn many comparisons to that of NBA superstar Kevin Durant.He is currently in tremendous academic standing at St. Joseph High with a 4.0-plus GPA and his move to the junior class was discussed at length in the last two weeks.  Towns decision to reclassify will immediately impact the class of 2014 rankings as he will now be slotted behind the No. 1 and No. 2 prospects, Tyus Jones and fellow center Jahlil Okafor.

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