Oh what a difference a GREAT RECRUITER makes!

In recent years, the Big Blue faithful has grown accustomed to inking one, or perhaps two players who were capable of coming in and making a big splash. Eventhough we're only through two exhibition games, it's obvious to me that this recruiting cycle has landed the best ever for the Cats.

In order to make a case for that statement, let's take a look at the past several recruiting classes and put them up against this years haul...

2002- Kelenna Azubuike, Antwain Barbour, Bernard Cote, Ravi Moss, Brandon Stockton.

Despite zero growth during the time he was at UK, Azubuike's talent still enabled him to make it to the league. For the rest, though, these guys were just not good enough players to be able to make that type of leap. Barbour was a bust, Cote left school, Ravi Moss was as good as he possible could have been for the Cats, and Brandon Stockton deserved to be playing at Murray State University, not UK.

2003- Shagari Alleyne, Lukasz Orbzut, Bobby Perry, Sheray Thomas.

I think the best thing that can be said about this group is that atleast 3 of them took up a bunch of minutes. Alleyne, while a preseason WARRIOR, never developed into more than a sideshow who blocked a couple of shots. "Woo," while endeared to a great many fans (for reasons I am still unsure), never made a consistent and meaningful contribution. Bobby Perry-- we should have known there was a reason the the big two in NC didn't snag him, and Sheray Thomas, who, even before the injury, was unable to thaw out any semblance of athleticism.

2004- Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford, Randolph Morris, Rajon Rondo, Patrick Sparks.

Easily the most lauded class up to the point in which it was signed. A good class all the way around. Unfortunately, the Tubbster seemed to rest on his laurels and expected this singular class to provide the depth and start power for the next 5 seasons.

2005- Jared Carter, Rekalin Sims.

Easily the most pathetic class up to the point in which it was signed. The very definition of lazy recruiting. Sims left... Carter never scored more than 4 in a warm-up game.. or stayed healthy.

2006- Ramon Harris, Derrick Jasper, Jodie Meeks, Michael Porter, Perry Stevenson

Another class that seemingly had some potential, but never came to fruition under the bug-eyed watch of the Tubbster. Harris and Stevenson are the only two players signed in this class that are with the team. While that worked out great for some (Meeks/NBA), others (Jasper/injuries, Porter/marriage) haven't been quite as fortunate (strictly basketbgall-wise).

2007- Alex Legion, Patrick Patterson, A.J. Stewart, Mike (I have no idea what your real first name is) Williams

Legion was said to have all-world talent... it never materialized (momma). Great questions regarding his character. A.J. Stewart never had the ability to play at this high level of basketball. Mike Williams... need I say more? The only thing that 'big fella' did while on the roster was hold down two slots on the bench. Patrick Patterson, everybody's all-american, is a bonefied star.

2008- Kevin Galloway, Josh Harrelson, DeAndre Liggins, Darius Miller, Donald Williams

Again our coach showed his lack of motivation to bring in top-notch talent to college basketball's most historically relevant program by dipping in to the juco ranks for 40% of the class (Galloway and Harrelson), and another 20% (Donald Williams) to fill a roster spot. The 20-man roster experiment was an EPIC FAIL, as only Miller is providing meaningful minutes for the team.

Now we come to the present, with Cal at the helm. What did he put out in his first recruiting class (in which he only had a few months)?

2009- Eric Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins, Darnell Dodson, John Hood, Daniel Orton, John Wall

While it is only preseason, this group has already had as much or more of an impact as many full classes did in their entire tenure in Lexington (2002, 2003, 2005). While all of this is from an extremely small sample size, here's what we have seen so far from this group.

Bledsoe- Good, steady ball handler who can get into the lane, distribute the ball, and knock down a jumper.
Demarcus Cousins- Man-child, able to score buckets from many different angles down low, rebound, and start the break.
Darnell Dodson- Potential steal of the class if he can continue his timely 3-point shooting and scrappy on-court demeanor.
John Hood- A little behind some of his other teammates, Hood has shown a scrappiness that can only come from a TRUE KY boy playing for the school he has loved from birth.
Daniel Orton- Dominant inside on the boards and on defense if he can remain healthy.
John Wall- One preseason game, one dominant performance.

Cal knows the importance of recruiting. Now that he has a national brand to sell to hs players to go along with his great personality and ultra-hyped Dribble Drive Motion offense, classes like his first will be common, where we can count on 4 or 5 players from a class making a significant contribution, not the one or two that we have been saddled with for most of this decade.