Seemingly out of nowhere, some big name basketball recruits are making verbal commitments. Among them Jeremy Tyler to the University of Louisville, 6-9 Mouphtaou Yarou to Villanova, point guard Junior Cadougan to Marquette.
What’s going on? Well, while the non-basketball-only fans have been focusing on football, the early signing period for college hoopsters has been creeping up on us. Would you believe Nov. 12? Here are the signing periods for collegiate sports for this school year:
|
Sport |
Initial Signing Date |
Final Signing Date |
| Basketball (Early Period) | Nov. 12, 2008 | Nov. 19, 2008 |
| Basketball (Regular Period) | April 15, 2009 | May 20, 2009 |
| Football (Midyear, JC, Transfers) | Dec. 17, 2008 | Jan. 15, 2009 |
| Football (Regular Period) | Feb. 4, 2009 | April 1, 2009 |
| Field Hockey, Soccer, Track | Feb. 4, 2009 | Aug. 1, 2009 |
| All Other Sports (including Baseball) | Nov. 12, 2008 | Nov. 29, 2008 |
| All Other Sports (Regular Period) | April 8, 2009 | Aug. 1, 2009 |
Speaking of recruiting, UofL Coach Rick Pitino had some thoughts on current trends in a recent interview with Dan Patrick of ESPN:
1. Recruiting has gotten better in the last several years. It’s a little less back-stabby. Pitino says he doesn’t go after the competition. He won’t knock fellow coaches.
2. Dan asked Pitino about what you look for when you investigate a recruit. Pitino said he looks closely at who the kid hangs out with. That’s the key.
3. Pitino said he’ll take a risk. He took a risk on Antoine Walker at Kentucky, because he heard Walker loved the game and worked hard. That was key. Pitino had to get him stop talking trash.
4. Dan asked Pitino about what he learned from his experience with the Celtics. Pitino got a strong dose of humility and learned a ton.
Here’s the audio. Some would argue that the most interesting part of the interview is how he would approach a recruit torn between Louisville and Kentucky.