this players are the biggest divas, ever, he just wants some free visits and attention, HE IS A MARYLAND LOCK.

The word is he is going to switch to Illinois.

These young men have alot to learn about TEAMWORK. Where is the selflessness, where is the sense of unity, where are the MODS. Fredterp

he may realize he doesn't have the grades to get into maryland and by de-committing now he can get a scholarship from a school that has easier academic requirements than maryland...or somebody offered him a lot of cash. also remember this kiid has been to a few high schools already so something not's right. is it too late for moses malone to use the scholarship that lefty offered him?

why would anyone want to play for a small time program like maryland when they could play at uk with THE BEST of everything.

Jason:

A wise person once told me that two things happen when you wrestle with a pig: 1) you get muddy; and 2) the pig likes it. At the risk of betraying such sage advice: Bubba (or "Arnold"), you're an idiot.

The last time I checked, Gary Williams was undefeated against Billy Gillespie. I've been to Lexington: it's fine...to visit...once. People actually live in and around College Park (ever heard of Baltimore and Washington). Next, unlike other schools, Maryland doesn't "poach" other teams' committments (and don't even suggest that Gillespie and his staff have not maintained contact with Jennings since his verbal.)

Finally, uk's academics are in no way comparable UM (US News & World Report ranks UM in the Top 20 public universities in the nation (#18); uk is #61 (and behind the Univ of Missouri - Rolla, Univ of the Pacific, Samford and Univ. of Buffalo - SUNY, to name a few.) I would have expected "THE BEST of everything" to include academics. After all, it is a school with its primary function to educate, right?

In an earlier post, Freddy Kallens probably hit the nail on the head: Jennings likely realizes that he'll have to work, not only while at UM, but to just get into the school. He certainly won't have that worry about that at uk. Maryland routinely loses high-end recruits/prominent players because it will not compromise on its academic standards (e.g., Jared Gaither, Chris McCray, Shane Clark, Josh Portis, etc.) Please name one prominent uk player/recruit to which this has happened within the last 5 years (BTW, Randolph Morris does not count; actually, he only further proves my point since he reamined "academically" eligle at the time he was too stupid to understand the NCAA's basic rules for declaring for the NBA draft.)

Academically, Jennings is a large question mark and it has always been reported that his qualification at Maryland would be "close." I doubt either he or Gillespie have such a concern. If he doesn't honor his prior commitment to Maryland, then he will have displayed his true lack of character and whomever (uk or someone else) gets him are welcome to both he and the "baggage" that will certainly accompany him.

Wow, Terp'n Texas, you wouldn't also happen to be an A&M lean would you?

But you're right, Maryland, academically, is a better school. And it might, *might, be in a better basketball conference. And sure, Washington, Baltimore, the east coast: they're all close to College Park ... but aside from those three benefits, Maryland is just an average school for a player like Jennings.

Where Maryland is lacking, Kentucky overcomes.

Lexington, while maybe not nearly an "urban" city as College Park, is absolutely beautiful. The rolling countryside is littered with horse farms and white fences, it's absolutely stunning. The bar scene downtown isn't bad. The campus is vast and offers a place for just about anyone, even big city urbanites like yourself, a place to fit in.

Fine dining? Try deSha's downtown. Want a good place to eat, drink and relax? Charlie Brown's. Comfort food near campus? Tolly Ho is open 24/7 and offers the greasiest of the greasy. And make sure you let 'em know it's your first time, they'll treat you right.

I could go on and on about the many nuances of the city, but it's truly unlike any other, and that's what makes it so enchanting!

But the real reason Jennings should come to UK, or anyone for that matter, is what you and I both know to be true.

Kentucky has the greatest basketball program in the country, period.

Tell me all about 'ol Gary's record against Gillispie, while he was at a lesser school. UK is the end-all be-ball college basketball mecca. 7 national championships strung out over almost 50 years. The most wins of any program, more NCAA tournament appearances, and consecutively the leader in attendance in all of college basketball.

Now, Gillispie's been here less than 5 months and already secured commitments from the likes of Alex Legion, Patrick Patterson, DeAndre Liggins, Darius Miller ... the guy is a scary good recruiter. Why wouldn't ANYONE want to play for a guy who can recruit like that?

And you know he can coach. You must know, you're in 'Texas' as your handle suggests. He turned UTEP into a decent program, he turned A&M into a defensively stout program, just think of what the man's gonna do for the Big Blue!

It's an exciting time for UK basketball. When Midnight Madness rolls around, 23,000+ screaming fans are going to fill Rupp Arena to overflowing capacity and really put on a show for a national audience, and that's just our first practice, mind you.

So what UK lacks academically (and it's still not a bad school in that respect) it more than makes up for on the basketball court. For a player like Jennings, who has been described as Stoudemire-esque, what does UK not have that he needs? A national audience -- check. A legitimate chance to make it to the final four every year -- check. More exposure to the same pressure he'll be facing every day when he makes the leap to the NBA (and he most assuredly will be making that leap) -- check.

It's simple really, UK's just a better fit for a guy like Jennings, you understand, right?

Sure, I know what you must be thinking, Kentucky's really had a bad few seasons recently and the recruiting hasn't been so steller. Why, they only made it to the 2nd round last year, times are tough. Wait, where did Maryland finish again? Oh, that's right, you went out in the 2nd round too... that's really too bad. What's that? You were proud of that accomplishment.. well, um, it's good to see you staying so positive!

Look, the bottom line is this: Tubby's gone, the talent's back, and good times are here to stay in Can-tucky.
Peace.

Slow your roll there buddy.

First, the guy's comments above about UK is absolutely true.

As far as basketball programs go, UK does have the best of everything. What this has to do with GPA and SAT entrance standards, I have no clue.

But lets not sugar coat it, UMD is hardly an ivy league school itself. Yet, the GPA average of the University of Kentucky basketball is routinely among the highest in the nation -- including higher than Maryland.

Break out your world reports and USA today 'academic rankings' all you want, fact is this... Jennings did not leave Maryland because of grades, and players did not leave MD because of grades either. In fact, if you say MD is turning down 5 star prospects because of academics you are just flat -out lying and making excuses.

If that was the case, how do you explain Duke, who has higher entrance standards than Maryland, consistently recruiting top 10 classes?

I guess they don't have logic classes at Maryland eh?

Nice try, guys. No A&M lean here, either. And, I do not recall ever saying Maryland was an Ivy League school, mentioning USA Today or that Maryland turns down 5-Star recruits. What I did imply is that Maryland does not compromise its academic standards for 5-Star recruits, something each of your posts would seem to strongly suggest (e.g., see B. King's 2nd sentence). And you're flat out wrong--Jared Gaither and Chris McCray both left school directly because of grades.

As far as Duke is concerned, they were not part of the thread. However, I personally know Johnny Dawkins and let's just say, given that, I would not be so quick to equate the academic standards applied to their basketball players and the general student body. Besudes, I'll take the Terps' success against them any day.

To the Kentucky fans who are a little "excited" about the T. Jennings affair...this isn't about Kentucky and MD...this is about a vagabond (for those from Kentucky, that means someone without a home, a drifter) 18 year old kid scared because he knows he's not going to meet the entrance requirements at one school and has to keep his options open. It has everything to do with SAT scores and high school GPA's. You can take your 5* recruits at Kentucky and enjoy them for one yr., then get another the following yr., and then wonder why Billy G. hasn't won anything. And by the way, Duke does not have higher entrance requirements for its basketball program than MD, and it does have lower requirements for hoops stars than it does for the general student body. It sure was sweet beating UK back in 2002 up at Syracuse in the 2002 tourney.

It must of been sweet beating UK in the 2002 tourney on your way to your first and only title, where as UK fans experience that more times that any UMD fan will ever.

Yeah, the comments about Duke are irrelevant, it is private and can pretty much take whoever it wants.