Wall and Bledsoe prepared to dominate...

John Wall was the recruit with all the hype. He was the guy getting slammed with offers from every major school from every major conference as a 15 year old kid. He was also the kid to be projected as the number one pick in the 2010 NBA draft while still playing high school ball for The Word of God Christian Academy in North Carolina. And then, as if the hype wasn't high enough already, the video of him dunking all over Jerry Stackhouse made headlines on every sports show in the country. Yeah, John Wall is the truth.

Yet, in the midst of this hype and speculation, another name has gathered some attention, and it just so happens to belong to another freshman point guard from Kentucky... Eric Bledsoe. Rumor has it, Bledsoe has played just as well as Wall in the summer pick-up games, and some have even gone so far as to say he's been the better all around player. Yeah, if you didn't know Wall from Bledsoe from Adam, you might walk away from watching one of these games without knowing which one was the number one recruit, Wall or Bledsoe.

This is an exciting notion for UK fans. It is quite possible that Wall and Bledsoe will both start, and end up being the best backcourt in all of college basketball. While I'm a big fan of Michael Porter and wish him the best in his future endeavors, the upgrade we're getting at the point is such a major improvement, there's really no words to describe just how good it is. They will play right away and will dominate nearly every match-up they see, and yes, you can bank on it.

If there is one glaring liability the two have, it would be that neither are particularly good at jump shooting. In my mind, that's why Jodie Meeks's departure to the NBA probably moved Kentucky from a preseason #1 ranking to a #2 or #3, or perhaps, even a little lower. Kentucky will see a lot of zone defense; the kind that clog the lane around Patterson and Cousins and force the others to shoot from the outside. With Meeks, that would have been just fine; without him, it could be the difference between an 8th NCAA Title or just a solid Sweet 16 finish. (After what we've endured in recent years, a Sweet 16 finish would still be a step in the right direction!)

But there's still no denying the quality of play that Kentucky can expect from the guard position, even without the prolific shooting of Jodie Meeks. Ultimately, that's why John Calipari is so excited about this team, and why they could eventually end up cutting down alot of nets next March.