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Message: [QUOTE="Drew, post: 2796204, member: 3723"] [URL='http://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/like-it-or-not-penny-hardaway-is-establishing-himself-as-a-real-threat-in-recruiting/']Penny Hardaway Is A Real Threat in Recruiting | Kentucky Sports Radio[/URL] [I]It’s not often that John Calipari ends up on the wrong side of a player’s recruitment, but that’s exactly what happened on Monday. That’s because at about 4:00 p.m. ET, D.J. Jeffries, one of two players who was committed to the Wildcats 2019 recruiting class, decided to decommit from the Wildcats, re-open his recruitment. [B]It is the first time since John Calipari arrived at Kentucky that he has had a player decommit after initially committing to the Wildcats.[/B] But this news does reiterate one thing that I’ve both written and discussed on my podcast throughout the last few weeks: After watching Penny Hardaway on the recruiting circuit the last few weeks, I truly believe that he is going to be a real force going forward on the recruiting trail. Not just with kids from Memphis or his former AAU program, but with many of the best players from all over the country. I was blown away by Hardaway’s presence on the recruiting trail these past few weeks. And I truly believe that he could end up as a thorn in the side of the Calipari’s and Coach K’s of the world, if not an outright, equal competitor. And to be blunt, that’s not really normal in recruiting circles, especially for a first-year head coach. I found it interesting that other first-year head coach (like Louisville’s Chris Mack and UConn’s Danny Hurley) are largely recruiting guys that they had previous relationships with dating back to their previous. Heck, even a guy like Coach K wasn’t as aggressive as Penny. [URL='http://kentuckysportsradio.com/basketball-2/a-couple-takeaways-after-watching-james-wiseman-on-wednesday-night/']As I wrote a few weeks ago[/URL], he actually got up and left the court when Wiseman arrived, a clear sign that he was unofficially waving the white flag in Wiseman’s recruitment. But Penny, he’s going after everyone. Guys he knows. Guys he doesn’t. He doesn’t care. And I for one love that aggressiveness. I have no idea if it’ll work, but give the man credit for trying. [/I] Pretty insane stat in the bolded part. Kentucky folks certainly think Penny is for real- at least on the recruiting trail. [/QUOTE]

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