Trevor Lacey- Kentucky Lean?

Trevor Lacey

This weekend SummerHoopScoop was at the Derby Festival in Louisville, Kentucky and the stars were on display. High-major prospects Deuce Bello, Chane Behanan, Wayne Blackshear, LaQuinton Ross, Quinn Cook, and Cody Zeller were all playing. However, all the talk before and after the festivities centered on unsigned 2011 SG Trevor Lacey.

Lacey has recently narrowed his list down to Alabama, Kentucky, and Kansas. He is expected to take a visit to Kansas in the coming days, but the buzz flying all weekend was that Lacey is leaning towards Kentucky. What follows is a sampling of impressions and predictions I got from sources around the gym:

Source: "He is leaning a little towards Kentucky right now. With those kids gone, it just makes a bit of a difference."

2011 Commit and Derby attendee: "yah I'd say trev is probably leaning towards Kentucky right now. With those kids gone, it just makes a bit of a difference."

Source on KU: "I think we have some ground to make up right now but Coach Self still gets him on campus and anything can happen."

Source on UK: "I think the staff feel they are in a good position"

Source: "If I was a betting man, I'd bet on Trev to Kentucky and not long from now."

While Lacey did not have an exceptional outing with 5 pts, 4 assists on 2-8 shooting, he definitely "felt the love" from the Kentucky faithful who made it out to the event. He often got more attention from the crowd than local Louisville commits and took notice. After the event he stated, "yah, I definitely heard the Kentucky fans gettin rowdy for me during the game. It was a really good feeling."

After this weekend it seems pretty clear that Kentucky is the team to beat, but there is a ways to go yet....

Real Deal

Top Performers


Isaiah Austin

Austin's greatest strength right now is his interior defense. With his seven foot frame he alters or blocks everything that gets near the rim. His bounce is nothing to scoff at for a seven footer which is why scouts at the event took notice. He also battles constantly and never shies away from contact. He exhibited a decent drop step and an ability to consistently get to the line. His frame needs to put on more weight but should be able to do so. Big Time Prospect

Alex Polythress

Polythress was impressive for the Georgia Stars and exhibited a high skill level. He is an inside-out big man who projects to be a college big. He has show that he can score on a smaller player with the baby hook inside and can take the bigger men outside where he will bury the three or draw contact on the drive. HE has a high IQ and because of this, he has become a perpetual mismatch. His shot is getting better and his confidence is sky high.

JP Tokoto

Tokoto is an athletic specimen who is smooth as you like. He can get to the rim time and time again with his improved handle and is getting better and better at finishing through contact. His jump-shot remains an area for improvement, but he has improved. His mechanics look better than a year ago and his shot selection has improved too. All of that said, the kid's strength is jumping. He is an athletic killer in transition.

Kaleb Tarczewski


The star of the weekend was a center who might not have the highest ceiling, but is the most college ready right now. Tarczewski has an array of post moves and has exhibited an ability to hit the 12-15 footer when his defender slacks off. His offensive repertoire is the most sophisticated of the big men in his class. He has improved since last summer at recognizing rotations and defensive movement. Put him in a weight room and under a good coach and he will shine

Tidbits and Rumors


(1) Kaleb Tarczewski- While many seem to think that Tarczewski is Kansas' to lose, a number of people close to Kaleb seem to think that he is more wide open than most suspect.

(2) Rodney Purvis- Purvis maintains that he is committed to Louisville, but many of the people I talked to believe it could just be a matter of time until he opens his recruitment back up as he will not want it to be a drawn out process the second time around and would like to have a better idea of what rosters look like next fall or later.

(3) Shabazz Muhammad- It recently came out that Bazz was very close to committing earlier in the process. Many believe this recruitment will go to the end, but this is no longer a consensus opinion on the summer circuit. I heard from multiple sources that the school he almost committed to was North Carolina. One source told me, "Carolina was his first love and you know what they say." However, Carolina's commitment to Bazz and playing time issues remain points of interest moving forward.

Back on the Trail

Hey All,

After a seven month hiatus and brief retirement, I am back. A lot of you followed me last summer on the website and twitter. I originally thought the yearly AAU circuit grind might be a bit much moving forward, but I just couldn't hang up the kicks and notepad.

I got a chance to see a lot of talent at the Real Deal this last weekend and will have a write-up shortly. Until then, here are just some of the usual tournaments I will be covering.

Nike Hoop Jamboree (June 11-14)
Nike Skills Camps (June 23- July 7)
King City Classic (July 8-9)
Peach Jam Invitational (July 12-15)
Nike Global Challenge (Aug 7-9)

... and many more.

Looking forward to being back on the trail and back to work, and thanks for following me at my new twitter @summerhoopscoop. We will have interviews and videos in the next few weeks. Finally, look out for some very interesting rumors and tidbits in the coming days. Big news coming down the pipes.

- Jonathon