The Jordan Brand Classic was last night, and I recorded it. If you follow this stuff, you’ll probably find that the people behind this game are a better judge of talent than the McDonald’s All-American Game, with a couple of exceptions, namely Marcus Jordan. I guess when they name the event after your dad, you can be in it if you want. I don’t blame Marcus at all.

Of the Kentucky guys, either currently or potentially in the fold, the one that impressed me the most was DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins didn’t play a particularly strong game last week in Portland at the Nike Hoop Summit, but if you judged based on these games, he probably redeemed himself in your eyes. He’s extremely impressive. For whatever reason, the excitement surrounding Cousins has been lower than it usually is when Kentucky lands an elite player. Consider the signing of Patrick Patterson as the blueprint for this. Heck, there was probably more excitement among Big Blue Nation when Jon Hood signed. All due respect to Jon because he’s outstanding, but it is time to start getting excited about DeMarcus Cousins being a Kentucky Wildcat. He has great feet and tremendous athleticism. He’s a really good finisher at the rim, which is sometimes a problem for freshmen (Samardo Samuels ring a bell?). He just does anything you could hope for in a big man, at least offensively. He passes well. He can step back and hit the perimeter jumper if necessary. Get excited, people. He’s here.

Daniel Orton is awesome too. He didn’t get as much clock as some of the other guys in this game, probably because of his knee injury, but when he was in there, he made his presence felt. A basketball pet peeve of mine is when a big man doesn’t take advantage of his physical gifts and spends too much time jacking threes. You could go ahead and call this the Wayne Chism Principle, or, if you’re an NBA fan, the Antoine Walker Principle. Orton knows his role, and that is to rebound, block shots and dunk. He should find himself open under the basket all the time in the DDM offense. He’s relentless under the boards. Much like Patrick Patterson, if he can get one finger on the basketball, it’s his. Also like Patterson, he throws a mean outlet pass after a rebound. Taking the knee injury into account, his footwork is a lot farther along than you would think it would be. The other thing I like about Orton is his conditioning. Guys like Keith Gallon and Renardo Sidney are huge, and they sucked wind at the end of the game. Orton takes good care of his body. He and Sidney each weigh about 275 pounds. Orton is a lean 275. Sidney is not. Who do you trust to get a key rebound at the end of a game?

I’ll group John Wall and Xavier Henry in the same paragraph because they deferred to the other guys more than they did in the Nike Hoop Summit, where both guys excelled. The one thing I noticed about these guys was that they had really good chemistry with each other. Maybe it’s just because Wall is a talent that comes around once in a generation and could possibly have that kind of chemistry with everybody. Henry made cuts as if he knew passes were on the way, and Wall made passes as if he knew when the cuts were going to be made. You never want to make more out of these games than what they are, but it’s as if these guys were made to be teammates. And we all know that can only happen at one place.

Did you realize that if Wall and Henry were to sign with Kentucky, it would be a higher ranked class than the Fab Five? How crazy would it be to sign a five-man recruiting class where the “weakest” player is Jon Hood? Jon Hood can play for my team any day of the week. He’s terrific. This class already has the 2nd, 12th and 32nd ranked players in America. It could add #1 and #3. Have mercy.

Once again, it’s against NCAA rules for fans to actively recruit a player to a school. I talked about this last year with the piece on the “DANIEL ORTON: COME TO KENTUCKY AND PLAY WITH REECHIE” group on Facebook. Just let me say this: Did you see what Derrick Rose did to the Celtics yesterday? That was a John Calipari recruit tearing up the league’s best defensive team and one of the league’s best defensive guards in Rajon Rondo (who was also awesome). That wasn’t a Coach K point guard. That was a John Calipari point guard.

Just saying…

Thanks for reading.

I like the NBA and there isn’t a lot of UK news other than the addition of Scott Padgett and Tony Delk to the staff. This is a great move to get some of the Pitino guys on board, but not worthy of a column. The Jordan brand All-Star Game is this weekend, so if you want to watch Daniel Orton, DeMarcus Cousins, Xavier Henry and John Wall, they’ll all be there. As an NBA fan, the playoffs are the best time of the year because it finally means the regular season is mercifully over. Let’s see who the champion will be.

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (8) Utah Jazz

A few of the NBA guys are giving Utah a chance to extend this series to seven because of how good they are at home. Never mind that they’re the worst playoff road team in decades and they’re playing the infinitely superior Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz should take one at home, but that’s all I’ll give them.

Prediction: Lakers in 5

(4) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (5) Houston Rockets

This is a tough one to call because of the wild card factor of Portland. None of these guys have ever been in a playoff situation. Houston has, even though they’ve lost every playoff series they’ve played in this millennium. On paper, the Blazers match up well with Houston because of their athleticism and depth, and provided all those young guys don’t all go spaz at once, they’ll win comfortably. If not, Houston takes it to seven and loses in Portland because they’ll get outcoached.

Prediction: Blazers in 5

(3) San Antonio Spurs vs. (6) Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs puzzle me. Bill Simmons brought up a good point about how they hardly ever put their five best guys on the floor (Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki & Brandon Bass) at the same time. Well, in last night’s must-win game against Houston, that’s exactly what they did in the fourth quarter, and they seemingly scored at will. San Antonio is riding on the health of Tim Duncan, which is not good. He turned in a superhuman effort last night against the Hornets to win the division, but with Manu Ginobili out, how many of those does he have let in him?

Prediction: Mavericks in 6

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (7) New Orleans Hornets

This is the hardest series to call in the west. Denver is bipolar. They’ve looked both better and worse than what was thought possible of them. New Orleans can’t shoot or rebound, have no depth and an injured Tyson Chandler. But they do have Chris Paul, and that might end up being all they need. As it stands, I think they’d have to win at least two games in Denver to pull it off, and I don’t see that happening unless Chandler heals quickly.

Prediction: Nuggets in 7

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) Detroit Pistons

Don’t the Pistons just look like they’re ready for this trainwreck of a season to be over?

Prediction: Cavs in 4

(4) Atlanta Hawks vs. (5) Miami Heat

Atlanta would have no trouble beating the 6, 7 or 8 seeds in the east for one good reason: None of those teams have Dwyane Wade. That’s how good he’s been. Miami has an awful homecourt advantage and Atlanta has a great one. Atlanta has more overall talent. They’re deeper. But they don’t have Dwyane Wade.

Prediction: Heat in 6

(3) Orlando Magic vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers

I’ll give Philly this much benefit of the doubt. I don’t think their fans will let them lose the series on their home court. That said, whenever a team that can shoot is matched up against a team that can, call it my mockingbird intuition, but I like the team that can shoot to win the series.

Prediction: Magic in 5

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Chicago Bulls

Losing Kevin Garnett hurts Boston in what was already going to be a tough series. Derrick Rose has John Salmons and Ben Gordon having excellent years and the Bulls have been extremely hot the last month and a half of the season. Fortunately for Boston, Chicago doesn’t have enough of an interior presence to have a field day in the absence of Garnett, and I like Doc Rivers going up against Vinny Del Negro in his first year. This will be an awesome series with tons of clutch shooting, and I like the home team in every game.

Prediction: Celtics in 7

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers have enough depth and athleticism to counter LA in that area. Both teams are shaky at point guard, but I think I like Portland a little more at the position. Would you take Steve Blake and Sergio Rodriguez over Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar? It would be close, but I think those guys fit their roles better. Portland should win all three home games, but I can’t see them beating the Lakers in Los Angeles with Andrew Bynum back and healthy.

Prediction: Lakers in 7

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (6) Dallas Mavericks

Here’s a series where I think Denver matches up really well. Couldn’t you see JR Smith coming off the bench, shooting over the shorter Dallas defenders and hitting about eight threes? I know I could.

Prediction: Nuggets in 6

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Miami Heat

Well, this series should be fantastic (but then again, so would Cleveland vs. Atlanta). Once again, Miami will be way behind in the talent department. Only this time, LeBron James is there to offset the superstar ability of Wade. Still, I think that both of these guys are good enough to win every home game, so that’s what I think will happen.

Prediction: Cavs in 7

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Orlando Magic

Here’s where not having KG hurts. The Magic are one of the best road teams in the league and have the best shooting. I also happen to think they have one of the best coaches in Stan Van Gundy. Most importantly, they have Dwight Howard, and Boston doesn’t have the league’s most intimidating interior defender standing in his way. The Celtics/Magic games were already wars before the injury. I like America’s Team to take it.

Prediction: Magic in 6 (hate it for Rondo, though – he should own this series)

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (2) Denver Nuggets

I can’t believe I picked the Nuggets to win two series. That’s enough of that.

Prediction: Lakers in 4

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (3) Orlando Magic

Ready for an upset? I like the team play and offensive firepower of the Magic to beat Cleveland in Cleveland in game 7. Don’t ask me why. I just like the Magic. I call them America’s Team for a reason.

Prediction: Magic in 7

(1) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) Orlando Magic

Fun fact: Did you know the Magic swept the Lakers this season? Again, these are my picks. Truth be told, if it were anything other than Lakers vs. Cavs in the Finals, I’d be awfully surprised. But since they’re my picks, I thought I’d have some fun with them.

Prediction: Magic in 7

Listen to this song while reading this column. It will be worth it, and you can trust me on that. Make it your ringtone if you’re that technologically savvy.

“Calipari, Calipari”

DeMarcus Cousins is a Kentucky Wildcat? Get out of here. He’s the highest-rated recruit Kentucky has had since who? Keith Bogans? Ron Mercer? Rod Rhodes? When Cousins committed to UK on Monday night, John Calipari hadn’t been at the job for a week yet. Can you believe this stuff is happening this fast, this soon?

If you watched the McDonald’s All-American game, you saw a good glimpse of what Cousins can bring to the table offensively. He is everything you would want from a big guy at the college level. He has good range, good moves and a better handle than most people his size. He seems to be that perfect fit for the dribble drive offense in the same way that Joey Dorsey was for Memphis last season. Make no mistake about it, DeMarcus Cousins is the real deal.

However, that does leave Calipari and Kentucky with a quandary, and the situation is not in either party’s hands. What is going to happen to Daniel Orton? I’ve heard he’s staying. I’ve heard he’s leaving. I have no idea what to believe, but I really hope he stays put because he’d be a much better fit at UK than he would be at Kansas, the other school he has been considering since the coaching change. Kansas cut a couple of scholarship guys loose yesterday, so you can use your imagination as to why this happened. They either cleared up room for Orton or the Henry brothers. One rumor going around is that Orton and Xavier Henry don’t really care for each other, so if that’s the case, I’d imagine that if Henry goes to Kansas, Orton will stick around. There’s a good chance we’ll know more about this whole mess after the Derby Classic.

Let’s talk about Nolan Dennis. I really like this kid, and as long as Calipari can clear a little bit of room, I think the former Memphis signee will end up at Kentucky. UK fans unleash some of the most ridiculous player comparisons, comparisons that would even make Rick Pitino cringe. I’ve heard Dennis get compared to Glen Rice and Eddie Jones. Calipari loves big guards. Dennis is a wonderful shooter and scorer, but he’s probably not a one-and-done type of guy. ESPN even mentioned yesterday how Dennis was granted his release from Memphis and how his mother hinted that he’d be coming here. If you can find a negative to Nolan Dennis being on the 2010 Kentucky roster, tell me because I can’t come up with any.

Of course, the big recruiting war is with John Wall. Wall had originally narrowed his choices down to Memphis and Duke. After the coaching change, it was Kentucky and Duke. After the national championship, it’s now Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina. I guess the momentum of winning the title helps. It helped UK nab Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans. It’s against NCAA rules for fans to actively recruit for a university on the internet. So just call this thinking out loud. North Carolina and Duke have logjams at point guard. Carolina, assuming Ty Lawson goes pro (he has to, right?), has Larry Drew II and a freshman whose name escapes me, but he’s a ***** recruit. They also have another freshman lined up for 2010. It’s a lot easier to stack big men than point guards. If Wall goes to Carolina, he’d have to share minutes. Duke has Nolan Smith and Elliot Williams fighting for the position already, but I won’t go that route when it comes to why Wall shouldn’t go to Duke. If Wall wants to get to the league as soon as possible, Duke isn’t the best route. Since I’ve been watching basketball, two Duke point guards have left school early to go pro. Jay Williams would have had a great career were it not for a motorcycle accident. William Avery flopped as badly as any Duke bust in history. Now, look at Kentucky, and specifically at John Calipari and the dribble drive offense. Consider the last two point guards to play for Calipari. Derrick Rose was the #1 overall draft pick and ought to win Rookie of the Year for the Bulls this season. Tyreke Evans isn’t even a natural point guard. He just played it at Memphis because he was the best option on the roster. Memphis won 30 games this season and Evans is projected as a top five pick in this year’s draft. Nobody knows if Evans will fare as well as Rose has, but there’s a good chance he will do better than William Avery. And at Kentucky, there’s also a good chance that he would get as many minutes as he wants at the position.

I love the coaching staff. Jim Robic is the loyal friend and true that has followed Calipari wherever he’s gone. Orlando Antigua has playing experience and is supposedly a great recruiter. Rod Strickland was director of basketball operations at Memphis, so this is a promotion for him. He’s one of the most underrated NBA point guards ever and probably makes a great teacher of the position. The other thing about Strickland is that he’s supposed to be in really tight with Oak Hill Academy, which used to be a Kentucky superstar factory.

I never got to see Mike Casey play, but from the stories I’ve heard, I wish I had gotten the opportunity. He was one of the greatest Kentucky players ever, and he will be missed.

Thanks for reading.

I’m sure you’ve been watching the events of the last 48 hours unfold and saw Pat Forde come on SportsCenter and absolutely blast the hire of John Calipari. You might think sour grapes or strange agenda or whatever, but I’ve recently found out that it’s for a good reason.

If you saw the McDonald’s All-American Game last night, you no doubt heard the announcers speculating about where Memphis commitment Xavier Henry and Memphis verbal DeMarcus Cousins would end up going now that Calipari has left Memphis for Kentucky. It turns out that might be a violation of NCAA protocol in the case of Henry, since he has already signed his letter of intent. Forde caught it, and unless something has changed, he might start investigating the situation and digging deeper, especially with the news of GJ Vilarino opting out of his letter. Trust me when I say this, Forde wants blood, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it. Why else would he be the only national sports journalist on the short list of Calipari detractors?

Folks, these are the risks you take when you make a hire like this. I don’t know if anything will come of it. We at UKWC could just be making a mountain out of a molehill, but it doesn’t sound good right now. You just know that the NCAA has an itchy trigger finger when it comes to Kentucky because of the point shaving scandal and the Emory scandal. I fear that they might jump the gun and create a giant media circus about this when it could very well not mean much in the grand scheme. It was unfortunate that Dave Pasch and Len Elmore had to keep bringing up the possibility of Henry to Kentucky, but then again, it isn’t like ESPN personalities know all of the NCAA rules when it comes to recruiting. Go back to the McDonald’s All-American game from two seasons ago where Dick Vitale announced and practically begged on his knees for Patrick Patterson to go to Duke. I know you remember it. It was disgusting. I’m not one to believe this conspiracy of ESPN having it out for Kentucky, but if they’re openly recruiting for Xavier Henry, they’re committing a violation. Sandy Bell is one of the best compliance officials in the country. She’ll get to the bottom of this, but consider Indiana last year. They imposed their own sanctions after the Kelvin Sampson fiasco, and I have no doubt that Sandy Bell would do the same if the NCAA were on the cusp of laying the hammer down.

So, to the people responsible for these incidents, to Pat Forde, to John Calipari, to Mitch Barnhart, Lee Todd, Sandy Bell and especially to you, the loyal readers of UKWC, I have one message.

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April Fools.

There are two things in life nobody expects. One is the Spanish Inqiusition. The other is an April Fool’s joke on April 2.

Yes, I am a prick.

I’m going to go jump out of a window now.