From the (e)mail bag, a few thoughts from Joe Burgess, who is puzzled by UK’s reluctance to offer Mr. Basketball Steffphon Pettigrew (right) a scholarship. (Pettigrew told the Elizabethtown News Enterprise that he has narrowed his college list to Western Kentucky and Xavier, and hopes to make a decision this week). Here’s part of the email from Mr. Burgess:
What this message is about is the apparent knock on the kid because he averaged (33.6 points and 13.4 rebounds) playing under the basket — that at 6-5 he’s not big enough to play small forward at a major top-tier school such as Kentucky . . .
That’s can’t be the problem, unless basketball coaches ain’t as smart today as Adolph Rupp was. You remember Frank Ramsey (left) . . . a two-time All-American . . . probably the most famous sixth man in NBA history . . .
Ramsey played center for Madisonville High School as a senior in 1948-49. Played forward with some duty as center in 1947-48. Played guard in 1946-47. At 6-3 he was one of the tallest players on the Madisonville team. Played under the basket because he had to — as Pettigrew did at Elizabethtown.
Rupp took a high school forward-center and turned him into one of the best guards in the history of UK basketball — a future NBA Hall of Famer . . . So what’s the problem with Pettigrew and his convesion to a shooting guard at a big-time school? He can apparently score from out on the floor if his winning the three-point shooting contest at the Derby Festival All-Star game means anything. He apparently is a heckuva rebounder, as was Ramsey, a real bonus in a shooting guard. Does he not have the promise in 2007 to what Ramsey had in 1949? Or are the biggie coaches — and not just Kentucky’s — and the so-called national high school talent raters and the basketball writers not as smart (or able) as Rupp was?
P.S.: No, all of this did not come out of my head. I talked with Frank on the phone and he verified his high school positions year by year . . . .
April 24, 2007 at 8:57 am |
I think it’s unjust that a school like UK would not sign one of their own. I feel like there is
conspiracy against the young men from Kentucky. But we have a Man in charge that had no connection to Kentucky basketball and another coach that is not intrested in the players from KY. Steffphon I’m sorry that I will not get to see you play in a Kentucky uniform.
April 24, 2007 at 9:32 am |
Same thing with Lofton he could not play defence. The list could go on and on.
April 24, 2007 at 10:53 am |
Great statements Mike. In my honest opinion, if we had signed Pettigrew, we would have had him all four years. Legion will come to UK, spend one maybe two years and jump to the NBA. It is extremely hard to justify to the fan base, the support for UK athletics when the coaching staffs have little support for the in-state athletes. I am NOT advocating an entire team built from homegrown players but Pettigrew is the real deal and has a versatility to play a small forward but also a guard position. Unfortunately, we’ll never know where he could have fit it at UK.
April 24, 2007 at 11:26 am |
Although I will agree that Steffphon Pettigrew is probably a good player, you cannot compare him to Frank Ramsey. Today’s game is entirely different than the game 50 or 60 years ago. Players are bigger, stronger, and more talented. To compare Steffphon’s situation to Frank’s years ago is the one of the craziest things I have ever heard.
April 24, 2007 at 11:29 am |
One more thought to add, with the signing of Alex Legion, had Gillespie offered a scholarship to Steffphon, he would have had only one left, and could not possibly land both Lucas and Patterson, should they both decide to come to UK, which is still a very distinct possibility.
April 24, 2007 at 12:36 pm |
I think its a big mistake not to sign this kid. A Ky. Mr. Basketball who wants to come to UK! He can score, rebound, is a good kid and has the passion to get better. Sign him now.
April 24, 2007 at 1:36 pm |
i can understand the wait and see approach by gillispie. he is going to be under a lot of pressure. however, joe crawford played the 3 position a lot last year. how tall is he? 6′5″. i think stephon could flourish too. you can measure height, not heart. maybe patterson and lucas will decide in the next week or so. if either chooses not to come to UK, maybe, after a couple of i’m sorrys, stephon will change his mind. i’m actually hoping he waits a little longer before deciding on a school.
April 24, 2007 at 1:39 pm |
Why not sign Pettigrew and trade 2 of Tubby’s signee to Minnesota for a future draft choice or a player to be named later
April 24, 2007 at 2:37 pm |
The good thing about Billy G. is that he will do what he believes is best for the program and not let a fan poll be his beacon. If you realistically want the best players available then you pick up a Legion and wait for Lucas and Patterson. You cannot afford not to do so.
April 24, 2007 at 3:04 pm |
Pettigrew will sign with Xavier. No one wants to come into a program knowing they weren’t the first choice. Patterson and Lucas will no doubt sign with Donovan’s program by the end of the week.
April 24, 2007 at 3:09 pm |
And the article in the Herald says, “UK suggested that Pettigrew us academic or need-based aid to enroll and walk on the basketball team.”
I’m sorry that’s outright arrogance… and stupidity. Mr. Basketball of Kentucky can’t get a full ride scholarship? That’s a COMPLETE AND UTTER SMACK IN THE FACE to the kid!!!
He should go elsewhere, no need to come crawling like a dog begging to crawl onto UK when plenty of other D1 schools that (by the way) make the NCAA Tournament year in and year out would be more than happy to have him. Hope he writes a story similar to Lofton’s !!
Head West, Head East, head somewhere other than Kentucky young man!
April 24, 2007 at 3:27 pm |
All you folks complaining about UK not going after Pettigrew are almost certainly the same ones complaining that Tubby couldn’t recruit. UK has had in state products- Carter, Rondo, J.P. Blevins, Todd Tackett et al and how many Final Fours has UK gone to in that time- try ZERO. Geez let the man do his job and for once quit complaining!
April 24, 2007 at 3:30 pm |
First, comparing Pettigrew with Ramsey is like comparing apples and oranges. Yes, you are comparing basketball players, but as great as Ramsey was, he was not a short player for his time. In those years Ramsey was in the NCAA Tournament, I doubt there were many more than 25 players over 6′5″ in the whole Tournament. While the Tournament was much smaller then, there are probably 50 players in the SEC today who are 6′7″ and taller. If memory serves me, UK’s tallest player on the NCAA Runner-UP Team in 1966 was 6′5″ Thad Jarez(sp), and Texas Western, now Texas El Paso, didn’t have anyone much taller. Also, most of today’s players are much quicker, faster, and have better hand movement, not to mention foot movement. And certainly, a 6′5″ forward will have problems now that Ramsey did not have when he played. This is not to say that Pettigrew can not play small forward in the SEC, but comparing different players from different eras is next to impossible to do accurately. Of course, talent and heart are two different values with heart being very difficult to measure. Ramsey definitely had both, and it would appear that both Legion and Pettigrew have the heart to play at UK.
2nd, while I, too, wish that UK could have signed Pettigrew, his self-imposed deadline to UK really hurt his chances. I certainly understand his wanting to “get on with it” and know where he was going to school, but Coach G had not been on the job long enough to evaluate the remaining talent pool to give Pettigrew the answer he wanted that quickly. I would assume that Coach G was familiar with some of the talent, but the players he might have been recruiting at Texas A & M are not necessarily the players he could recruit or needed to recruit at UK.
3rd, while Pettigrew is an excellent ballplayer, I don’t think he is a “Lofton”. I have to trust Coach G’s evaluation of video performances of the various players he is scouting. While there may be other “large” schools out there waiting to pick up Pettigrew just like Tennessee did with “Lofton”, it certainly doesn’t appear to be the case.
4th, one of the major criticisms of Tubby was his inability to recruit nationally recognized talent consistently. I assume that Coach G felt he needed to sign at least one such player this year to help in future recruiting efforts, particularly as we still don’t know what Patterson and Lucas are going to do. Signing Legion was a step in the right direction.
5th, while Coach G has said repeatedly that UK needs to sign the best players that Kentucky produces, that does not necessarily mean that he has to sign a Kenteucky player this year. He has several holes to fill for this coming year and needs to get the best players he can. Whether or not Legion stays one year or four, he is definitely the “real thing” and will be an asset to the team. This is not to say that Pettigrew would not become a valuable part of next year’s team, but Coach G has to look at the “big picture”, which includes how this year’s recruiting will affect the team for years to come.
Finally, recruiting is not over! Pettigrew has not signed with anyone yet. If I were Coach Gillispee, I certainly would not call Pettigrew now if I didn’t really want him. I, personally, won’t be very surprised if Pettigrew still ends up in UK Blue & White.
April 24, 2007 at 3:45 pm |
Billy G. made a very solid decision by signing top-30 Parade All-America recruit Alex Legion rather than offer a scholarship to Pettigrew simply because he’s a Kentucky kid. Legion is a bigger and apparently more talented and more mature version of Pettigrew who undoubtedly would have been moved to shooting guard had he signed with UK, and the last thing the Cats need is another 6′4″ shooting guard.
Sure, Pettigrew is this years’ Mr. Basketball, but where is he in the national rankings? And if Pettigrew is supposed to be all that, why aren’t any of the other marquee programs giving him a look?
The decision was not arrogant or stupid, it was very smart thinking on Billy G.’s part. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if he were to sign Lucas, Patterson and Sanchez in addition to Legion and within a season and a half have Kentucky basketball back among the top 10 programs in the country.
April 24, 2007 at 3:50 pm |
One more point…I don’t expect Dwight Perry or Ramon Harris to be on the roster this fall. Billy G. needs those scholarships for people who can play. If I were Michael Porter, I would start looking for another school as well.
April 24, 2007 at 4:48 pm |
What would definitely be stupid would be giving someone a scholarship just because they are Mr. basketball of Ky. Have you seen the level of players that have become interested in Ky. with the advent of Gillespie? I hope he has an even more stellar career than Lofton. He seems like a fine kid and I wish him nothing but the best but do not feel required to offer him a scholarship.
April 24, 2007 at 5:50 pm |
How bout Antwain Barbour? What did he accomplish? And Brandon Stockton…and as pointed out, the list goes on and on and on…
Granted, there have been some KY kids (Lofton) that we missed out on…but they have been few and far between.
I, for one, admire BG for NOT bowing to pressure from idiot fans to take a player that HAS NOT been recruited by any of the other high profile (UCLA, FLORIDA, DUKE, CAROLINA, and even LOUISVILLE) schools…
April 24, 2007 at 7:49 pm |
Why is it that when evaluating Kentucky Kids UK coaches seem to dwell on their perceived knocks. With Pettigrew it is his lack of size for an inside player. Lofton was too slow, too short, and could not get his shot off at the next level. Justin Doleman was too thin and Ross Neltner was not athletic enough. Yet when evaluating out of state talent they look at the kids upside. Nobody questioned Chuck Hayes lack of height for an inside player (I bet he did not average over 30 points a game as a senior in HS). Nobody questioned whether Ramel Bradley could score at the next level. Did anybody wonder if Bobby Perry was too thin to play at UK or if Sheray Thomas was athletic enough.
I hope Billy Clyde realizes that no UK or UofL team has won a NCAA Championship without a Kentucky Kid in the starting lineup.
April 24, 2007 at 7:56 pm |
Exactly! It must mean something when even Ricky Pitino’s not recruiting him either right out of his own backyard, huh?
I hope Pettigrew has a fantastic career wherever he goes. It’ll be interesting to see if he can develop into a top-flight shooting guard at Xavier or WKU.
Yeah, Antwain Barbour, Brandon Stockton, Josh Carrier…excellent point.
April 24, 2007 at 8:04 pm |
Allen, I think Billy G. may have been interested in Pettigrew, otherwise he wouldn’t have considered him at all. But apparently he thought (correctly) that he could sign a top-30 talent (Legion) to play the same position Pettigrew would’ve had to switch to.
I agree, Lofton and Doellman should definitely have been recruited…one of Tubby’s many mistakes… and Chuck Hayes turned out to be an overachiever. But I certainly think UK could have gotten much better talent than Bobby Perry, She-ray Thomas, Obrzut and Ramel Bradley.
April 24, 2007 at 10:16 pm |
You people complaining about not recruiting Pettigrew should blame Tubby for filling the roster with less than D1 talent. With 5 schlorships in two years Billy G can’t afford to make mistakes on talent. I love Ky kids and hope some can play for us but we are in a bad position to just give a schlorship based to being a Ky kid.
April 24, 2007 at 10:22 pm |
As near as I can tell, perhaps two out of the 20 who replied to the excerpts from my e-mail to Mike actually read the excerpts and comprehended what they said.
And yes, the comparison of Ramsey and Pettigrew is valid in the context of a high school center being converted to a college guard. Ramsey was able to play guard well in his day. Pettigrew — unless he dribble the ball off his foot all the time — may very well be able to do the same today. Ramsey was a player/product of his time — Pettigrew is a player/product of his time.
Also, what is puzzling is not necessarily that Kentucky has not tried to sign him — but that no major top-tier school has. He sure appears to have great possibilities to become a shooting guard at a biggie school — as did Ramsey, something that Adolph Rupp saw and developed. But of course, that was real coaching.
April 25, 2007 at 8:17 am |
Sure, it’s nice to point out a nice selective lists of KY players who failed to produce. Don’t forget the following lists (if I have recited all of these correctly off the top of my head) for a thorough look at things:
-Givens
-James Lee (right?)
-Charles Hurt
-Melvin Turpin
-Leroy Bird
-Rex Chapman
-Pelphrey
-Farmer
-Feldhaus
-Ford
-Cameron Mills
-Patrick Sparks
One that got away (though there are many probably) L-O-F-T-O-N
And no.. we’re not rating these players against NCAA titles or NBA careers. Although you might review what the recruiting gurus of the time did or didn’t think about the above list of players.
April 25, 2007 at 8:23 am |
I understand Mr. Burgess’s point now. Once every 60 years a guy comes along and lights it up, so therefore an in state kid should be recruited on the thought that every 60 years or so one will become a superstar. Makes sense to me! Anyone else?
April 25, 2007 at 9:58 pm |
How “smart’ was Rupp to not recruit black players until he was made to by the AD?
I have followed Pettigrew since he was a sophomore. I love his attitude, effort, and heart. He will make either Sean Miller, or Darrin Horn an excellent player.
Gillispie, and Pettigrew have both been placed in an unfortunate situation. Gillispie needs to sign freshman IMPACT players, if at all possible. Unfortunately, Pettigrew probably does not fit that category. I feel the signing of Legion justifies the non-offer to Pettigrew. By all accounts, Legion will be an impact player at the D1 level next year.
Pettigrew, understandably so, is anxious to end the recruiting process. He has a decision to make, and he needs to know who his options are.(I feel he would crawl to UK if offered)
Timing is everything in life, and the timing just stinks for Pettigrew and Gillispie, as far as this situation is concerned.
Mr. Burgess makes a valid point about the “tweener”, but this situation is not at all parallel to Frank Ramsey’s.
It is, though heartening, to read an Adolph Rupp era UK fan trumpet the virtues of a black player.
Ken Howlett
April 26, 2007 at 11:39 pm |
Actually, I am an Adolph Rupp-Joe B. Hall-Eddie Sutton-Rick Pitino-Tubby Smith-Bill Gillispie-era UK fan.
And what I was trumpeting was the virtues of a highly talented Kentucky high school player — who happens to be black. (The insinuation that because I was around when Rupp was coaching makes it unusual that I would promote and admire a black player is rude and based upon faulty and presumptuous reasoning — or a complete lack of reasoning.)
The fact that Ramsey and Pettigrew played under the basket in high school at a size too small to do so at the collegiate level — regardless of their eras — and that each is intelligent does make their situations fairly parallel, except that a big-time coach at a big-time school had the gumption to recruit and develop Ramsey, something that big-time coaches at big-time schools don’t seem to do much of anymore. Of course, it takes effort and Adolph Rupp-quality coaching skills.
April 29, 2007 at 12:07 am |
I agree that Pettigrew and Ramsey both are/were undersized, low block players in high school. Pettigrew’s perceived problematic height, though, is much more concerning to coaches because of the size of the typical low post player in todays era.
I am of the opinion that regardless of Pettigrew’s size, he can be an affective inside presence at the major college level. On top of the fact that he will be able to also be affective at the 2 or 3 spot. His outside, and mid-range jumper has improved dramatically over the last year. Pettigrew’s long arms also allow him to play bigger than he is. His vertical, while I do not know exactly how high, is significant. His ability to leap quicky off of the floor is an asset to his rebounding.
His primary qualities, in my opinion, are his heart and determination, which are intangibles the recruiting services do not rate.
We are in agreement about Pettigrew’s abilities, and the likelihood of him being a contributor at the major D1 level. I only wish Gillispie was not in the position he is in. As I stated in my earlier comments, he must sign immediate impact players, if at all possible. That precludes an offer to Pettigrew because of the possibility of signing Patterson, or Sanchez. I feel Gillispie has made a need based decision. Only time will tell whether it is the right decision.
As far as my “insinuation” that “Rupp era” fans are less than accepting of black players;I stand by that statement 100%. You should not be insulted because MANY fans in the 55+ age bracket are less than tolerant of people not like them. It is a credit to your integrity as a human being.
If, though, you truly believe this to not be true, I really do not know what to write. Racism in our society is everywhere, and it you haven’t encountered or witnessed as much, you should consider yourself blessed. The fact that these hatreds are slightly more prevalent in older people is not new.
I,like countless others, have been a UK fan since birth.(1965) I have, for many years, wondered how fans can root for a team of black players, yet wouldn’t have one in their home. Or allow one to date their daughter. It is an enigma. It is also a fact.
My comment was not intended to denigrate you. It was simply honest commentary.
Mr. Clay is evidently not going to print my response to your comment about Tubby’s assistants, so I will give my opinion here: We do not know who Smith asked to go to Minnesota with him. I do know that Hobbs said he was not interested, because he wants to re-enter the world of head coaching.
Smith’s loyalty to people in general is well known, perhaps he is loyal to a fault.
It is not surprising to many that he may have been asked to make changes to his staff, but refused. Patterson’s comments seemed to confirm this school of thought.
Also, firing an assistant, versus not taking an assistant to Minnesota, are divergent dynamics at work.
Ken Howlett