The recruiting trail

Did Willie Warren forget what he was saying and made the unintentional verbal to play for Kentucky? Look at this quote right here:

"I compare myself a lot to a player that he just coached, Acie Law IV. He arrived at A&M as a point guard and coach Gillispie helped him become a scoring point guard. He'll probably be a lottery pick (in the NBA draft on June 28). So hopefully coach Gillispie can do the same for me as he did for him."

I hope I'm not reading too much into it but it seems like he made a committment to play for Kentucky right there.

G.J. Vilarino, who already verbaled to UK, could be a "special player."

"He's already a pretty good shooter from 3-point range and has a decent mid-range game," said Watson. "We've been working the last few weeks to make changes to his shooting mechanics. He has really taken to it well. A lot of players, if you start messing with their shot, they are hesitant to listen. He tries to soak it all up and make the changes you want because he wants to be as good as he possibly can be."

The 6-0, 160-pound Vilarino became the first player to verbally commit to new Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie when he indicated last week he would sign with the Wildcats in two years.

Watson thinks Kentucky fans will like the skills Vilarino, who averaged 20.4 points and 4.5 assists per game last year, will bring to the Bluegrass in 2009.

"Just looking at him, he is one of the most skilled kids I have ever seen play basketball. He is certainly the most skilled kid I have ever coached, no question about that," said Watson. "He is just a dynamite offensive player. He is tremendous in the open court.

A big recruiting question right now deals with Kentucky's Mr. Basketball, Steffphon Pettigrew. The current word is that he is giving Kentucky until this Thursday to offer a scholarship or forget about it.

Pettigrew expects his visit to Saint Louis, which is currently one of his top four choices, to be his final official visit before making a decision.

Other schools in his top four include: Xavier, Duquesne, and Western Kentucky.

“The first thing I am looking for in a college is a good business program, because that is what I want to major in, I think,” Pettigrew said. “The second thing is good teammates, and then good coach. And I am not trying to sit down for two or three years. I want to go someplace where I can work hard and get to play.”