Thanks for the comments on my scouting report of Teague and Ferguson. There was one in particular that asked me to allude on why Kentucky's John Calipari has a much greater Twitter following than IU's Tom Crean. I read that inquiry this morning, and have thought on it for some of the day. I thought in terms of persona this morning while watching one of Cal's former assistants, Ed Schilling, work with some of this year's NBA prospects and college stars in Indianapolis. Here are some thoughts:
Foremost, the Cal/UK deal is still hot off the press. There hasn't been much hoops news since the conclusion of the Final Four. On top of that, Cal going to UK would probably top most basketball news any day outside of things like the national championship and Bob Knight returning to IU (gulp).
Borrowing Crean's ideology from a little over a year ago, one can't forget that "it's Kentucky." Crean and Cal carry largely the same persona, characterized by passion for their respective programs and excitement for the future. I would have liked to see Crean's Twitter responses the day after his introductory press conference and compare to that of former UK coach Billy Gillespie.
Second, there is still a lot hinging on the future of the UK program next year thanks to the questions surrounding 54 point wonder Jodie Meeks' status and Patrick Patterson withdrawing his name from the draft. John Wall, the No. 1 recruit according to Rivals.com, still has UK on his shortlist. If he goes, he would accompany blue chipper DeMarcus Cousins, who committed days after Cal took the job.
Finally, there isn't a whole lot happening in the Indiana program right now with the exception of Nick Williams electing to call Ole Miss his new home. The program which will add Malik Story is still in question, but let's be realistic when we compare the amount of attention of college hoops fans on the following topics: the recruitment of the top player in the country combined with the question of whether or not UK's All-American guard will hire an agent, and where a role playing guard on a sub-10 win team will end up.
Don't get me wrong, I think Story is a great shooter and would be an excellent addition on and off the court to any team because of his dedication to his teammates and the right things, but everything surrounding the Kentucky program draws greater attention after the dismal season IU unfortunately endured.
Thanks for the thoughts.
