Vilarino shows risks of early commitment
For several months I've been looking for the ideal story to illustrate why this rush, rush, rush to offer college basketball scholarships to 10th-, ninth- and even eighth-graders is an unnecessary and unsettling trend that needs to be reversed by adults who should know better.
I fear we are watching that story develop. I hope it doesn't become an ugly story. It has already become an uncomfortable one.
It is the story of G.J. Vilarino, the 6-foot-1 Texas high school point guard who committed to the University of Kentucky before he finished his sophomore year.
As you read in Jody Demling's story in The Courier-Journal yesterday, Vilarino says that he intends to honor his commitment and enroll at UK in 2009.
So what's the big deal? Why wouldn't he come to Lexington? It's a wonderful place to play college basketball.
The big deal is that a healthy chunk of the basketball world, including some Kentucky fans, does not believe Vilarino has the skills to play winning basketball for Billy Gillispie's program.
Vilarino is 16 months from playing his first game for Kentucky, and he's already taken more hits than Sheray Thomas, Adam Williams or Carlos Toomer. At a time when people should still be evaluating Vilarino, they're writing him off.
There was a time when a kid got to play at least a half-season in college before the world questioned his credentials. Now it's happening before he gets fitted for his class ring.
Some fans are howling that Vilarino is not a Kentucky-quality player. Dave Telep of Scout.com told me Vilarino would be a backup at Kentucky. Two opposing coaches that I saw at the Kentucky HoopFest two weeks ago said Vilarino was a mid-major talent. The last time I checked Kentucky did not aspire to mid-major greatness.
What's the truth?
I wish I knew. I've never seen Vilarino play. My guess is that most of the fans shrieking about Gillispie's recruiting are also waiting for their first look at the kid from McKinney, Texas. Hey, an irrelevant fact like that is not going to stop the howling.
But this is why this is such an alarming story: Villarino's rush to commit to Gillispie and Gillispie's willingness to accept the commitment contribute greatly to the drama.
When a player commits to a school like Kentucky before he has played the two most revealing seasons of his high school career, it tells me that he is an off-the-charts talent.
Can't miss. The Next (fill-in the blank with your favorite player). Use any lingo you desire that says a guy is as good as it gets at his position.
Last year, when Vilarino became the first player to commit to Gillispie,
as a 10th-grader, the message was that Gillispie was going to be able to sign the elite prospects that former UK coach Tubby Smith struggled to bring to Lexington.
But now that the kid has played another season and more people have had the opportunity to evaluate him, that's no longer the message people are hearing.
If Vilarino comes to Kentucky and plays spectacular basketball, well, he's supposed to because he's the kid who committed as a 10th-grader.
If he comes to Lexington and plays less than solid basketball, he'll be viewed as a bust and people will wonder what Gillispie was thinking.
G.J. Vilarino is a perfect example of why these early commitments might be the trend, but they aren't the best thing for young players or coaches.
Nowitness, was it this dude or K.C. Ross-Miller that you said was buns? or both?
errick gets the ball on the low block, hits the defender with the mean drop-step with the up and under move for an And 1. Then next trip down, he does thesame move but instead of going baseline with his drop-step, he spins toward the middle of the paint and throw up some weak +#@ baby hook that gets punch causehe only jump like 6 inches off the ground. Then calls for a sub.
