Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Kentucky already has commitments from the No. 1 and No. 5 players in the Class of 2011 in Michael Gilchrist and Marquis Teague.
Could John Calipari add No. 8 Anthony Davis as well?
“I gotta get on him, huh?” Gilchrist said last week at the Peach Jam. “ASAP, huh?”
Rivals currently ranks the 6-foot-10, 195-pound Davis No. 8 in the class, but he is in the conversation for No. 1 after the way he’s played this summer.
The latest word from the Davis camp is that he planned to visit his top three schools — Kentucky, Syracuse and Ohio State — before potentially taking other visits.
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams watched several of Davis’ games at the Peach Jam and figures to track him during this second evaluation period as well.
“I want to visit my top three first and then go visit any other schools that might be interested that’s not in my top three,” Davis, out of Chicago Perspectives, said last week.
Davis said he last heard from Carolina assistant Steve Robinson several weeks ago. Asked if he would consider Carolina if they offered, Davis said, “I would, yes.”
Still, Kentucky has to be considered a good bet to land Davis, who has designs on playing in the pros.
“John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, all of them went to the league,” Davis said of Kentucky’s last freshmen group. “It’s just a great program, so that’s why I want to go to the NBA.”
With or without Davis, Gilchrist and Teague have developed a strong bond and friendship this summer that should benefit them once they step on campus.
After being prompted by James McAdoo to join the USA U17 team, Gilchrist, in turn, called Teague to get him on the team.
“Mike’s been talking to me, telling me to come play,” Teague said.
The two have been friends for a couple of years and roomed together during training in San Antonio, along with uncommitted guards Quinn Cook and Tony Wroten.
“Mike was my roommate most of the time so we [were] together a lot,” Teague said. “That’s my buddy. We talked a lot before we went there, so me and Mike have been good friends since 8th or 9th grade.
“”We [were] playing together real well. We came in in the same unit. We were working together real well.”
Teague said he enjoyed playing on the gold-medal winning USA U17 team in Hamburg, Germany after his Indianapolis Pike team failed to meet expectations last year.
“That was great,” he said. “The main reason I play basketball is to win. Anytime I get a chance to win, I’m all for that. That was a great opportunity for me.”
What was also important was watching Calipari in Germany to support the team, especially Gilchrist and Teague.
“He was there the whole time,” Teague said. “That was great. That was real important to me. To know that he cares enough to go all the way away from his family to watch us win that.”
Calipari returned to the U.S. in time to watch Gilchrist, Teague and Davis at the Peach Jam.
Only time will tell if he can land Davis as well.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Kentucky already has commitments from the No. 1 and No. 5 players in the Class of 2011 in Michael Gilchrist and Marquis Teague.
Could John Calipari add No. 8 Anthony Davis as well?
“I gotta get on him, huh?” Gilchrist said last week at the Peach Jam. “ASAP, huh?”
Rivals currently ranks the 6-foot-10, 195-pound Davis No. 8 in the class, but he is in the conversation for No. 1 after the way he’s played this summer.
The latest word from the Davis camp is that he planned to visit his top three schools — Kentucky, Syracuse and Ohio State — before potentially taking other visits.
North Carolina head coach Roy Williams watched several of Davis’ games at the Peach Jam and figures to track him during this second evaluation period as well.
“I want to visit my top three first and then go visit any other schools that might be interested that’s not in my top three,” Davis, out of Chicago Perspectives, said last week.
Davis said he last heard from Carolina assistant Steve Robinson several weeks ago. Asked if he would consider Carolina if they offered, Davis said, “I would, yes.”
Still, Kentucky has to be considered a good bet to land Davis, who has designs on playing in the pros.
“John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, all of them went to the league,” Davis said of Kentucky’s last freshmen group. “It’s just a great program, so that’s why I want to go to the NBA.”
With or without Davis, Gilchrist and Teague have developed a strong bond and friendship this summer that should benefit them once they step on campus.
After being prompted by James McAdoo to join the USA U17 team, Gilchrist, in turn, called Teague to get him on the team.
“Mike’s been talking to me, telling me to come play,” Teague said.
The two have been friends for a couple of years and roomed together during training in San Antonio, along with uncommitted guards Quinn Cook and Tony Wroten.
“Mike was my roommate most of the time so we [were] together a lot,” Teague said. “That’s my buddy. We talked a lot before we went there, so me and Mike have been good friends since 8th or 9th grade.
“”We [were] playing together real well. We came in in the same unit. We were working together real well.”
Teague said he enjoyed playing on the gold-medal winning USA U17 team in Hamburg, Germany after his Indianapolis Pike team failed to meet expectations last year.
“That was great,” he said. “The main reason I play basketball is to win. Anytime I get a chance to win, I’m all for that. That was a great opportunity for me.”
What was also important was watching Calipari in Germany to support the team, especially Gilchrist and Teague.
“He was there the whole time,” Teague said. “That was great. That was real important to me. To know that he cares enough to go all the way away from his family to watch us win that.”
Calipari returned to the U.S. in time to watch Gilchrist, Teague and Davis at the Peach Jam.
Only time will tell if he can land Davis as well.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
