I Bleed Blue and White

ZagsBlog is reporting that Michael Gilchrist will make the short trek from his South Jersey home to visit the Villanova campus this weekend. Head coach Kevin Boyle has confirmed that he is trying to visit ‘Nova, with some outside sources also confirming the trip will occur this coming weekend.

“It’s close to his house [in South Jersey] and he wants to get a feeling for how Villanova stands,” Boyle added.

Popular belief is that the Gilchrist sweepstakes will come down to Kentucky and Villanova, with John Calipari having the slight edge because of his connection to William Wesley, a.k.a. World Wide Wes.

…A good weekend for him to visit with the ‘Nova team hosting the first ever nationally televised football game in CAA history…should be a great atmosphere…students, if you see him, make it known you want him to stay close to home!…

Clever title, I know.

In a report to North Star BBall, Alex Schwartz discusses the consensus #1 prospect in 2011, Michael Gilchrist. The article talks about Gilchrist’s game, his accomplishments, and his modesty through it all.

Gilchrist has been considered the top basketball prospect in the country since last year, regardless of age, and while many have predicted that he’ll end up with John Calipari at Kentucky, that’s not written in stone just yet.

“It’s a foregone conclusion that he will be a Wildcat one day, right? Yes, pretty much. Yet, it might be that he ends up as a Villanova Wildcat. Two well-informed independent sources with knowledge of the situation have told me that it is their opinion that, at the end of the day, Michael Gilchrist will be going to VU and not UK. While they are not citing any specific knowledge of this and are not saying it’s a done deal, they are commenting that they think “Gilly” will choose to stay closer to home and go to the surging Big East power. It it nearly a definite yes that Michael Gilchrist will be a Wildcat, but the question is this: What type of Wildcat will the world’s best prospect be?”

We’ve been hearing for months and months now that it’s Kentucky and Villanova for Gilchrist. What will he do? He doesn’t strike me as the Derrick Rose type of kid that wants to be pushed right to the NBA while World Wide Wes puts cash in his family and friend’s pockets. Gilchrist has his head on straight and in more than one interview has been described as shy even.

…A commenter yesterday basically gave up on Gilchrist in a ‘Nova uni…I say we still have a big chance…

Now, let me preface this by saying who knows what this really means. As you’ll see when you click through to the article, Gilchrist says that he wants to be recruited heavily. So he may just be playing Villanova and soaking in all the love they are showing him. But, for now, let’s just be happy.

Credit: Akira Suwa (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The Philadelphia Inquirer has an update on super-recruit Michael Gilchrist of St. Patrick’s in New Jersey where they talk with him about recruiting, amongst other things. This sequence of quotes from the article are sure to make any Villanova fan give the old silent fist pump.

“It’s wide open,” the 6-foot-7 swingman said. “I want to be recruited heavily.”

The 15-year-old even elevated his arms, motioning that Kentucky and Villanova are neck and neck.

“Michael loves Villanova,” said Cindy Richardson, Gilchrist’s mother. “It’s Kentucky, Villanova. Villanova, Kentucky.”

Seriously?

“Yes,” she said.

I take the ‘elevating of the arms to mean that Gilchrist threw up a big V, but I could be misinterpreting that. Anyways, we’ve all heard for the better part of a year now that Gilchrist is a lock to John Calipari (first at Memphis, now at Kentucky) and that still may be true, but it’s always good to keep hearing your name mentioned. Kudos to Jay Wright and the rest of the staff.

Keep in mind that Gilchrist is a 2011 recruit, so he won’t be signing anywhere for a while.

If you haven’t heard about Class of 2011 stud Michael Gilchrist, I’m here to help you out. Right now Gilchrist is ranked as the #1 SF for the Class of 2011 by Rivals and is being talked about already as a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. High praise for a kid that is just a sophomore.

ZagsBlog has an update on Gilchrist where his mother releases his current Top 5, and Villanova made the cut along with Memphis, Rutgers, UConn and Virginia. Keep in mind this is an early list, and it could change, but it appears as if Villanova is in a strong position early for the St. Patrick’s (NJ) standout. But don’t expect a quick decision from Gilchrist, as he’s not 100% focused on recruiting right now according to his mother.

“It’s not a big deal for him right now. All of his friends are going on these unofficial visits, that’s stressful for him.”

…Well, we’ve had some good success at St. Pat’s in recent years and we’re already on 2010 guard Kyrie Irving, so it’s no surprise to me that Gilchrist likes ‘Nova early on…however he’s been pegged as somewhat of a “lock” for Memphis early on, so I’m not getting my hopes up…

…I really envision this kid as a Donte Green type…comes in and makes an immediate impact and then bolts for the money…nothing wrong with that at all…but this could be a huge coup for Jay Wright…

2010 PG prospect Kyrie Irving of powerhouse St. Patrick’s High School is definitely a name to keep an eye on. The talented junior is part of a back-court that currently features North Carolina-bound Dexter Strickland and super sophomore Michael Gilchirst.

Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog provides a recruiting update (bottom of page) via Coach Kevin Boyle that bodes well for Villanova. Iriving currently has a Top 3 of Rutgers, Seton Hall and Villanova.

“Kyrie’s got a wide range of interest,” he said. “I think there is the
chance that Seton Hall or Rutgers could get him to stay in town. Kyrie
has also shown interest in Villanova. There’s a good chance he could
stay in the East. He’s just really, really good.

It’s no secret that Villanova needs to recruit some PG’s in the future. People love to talk about the frontcourt depth issues but getting players who can handle the rock is equally important. Irving, who stands 6′2″, is definitely at the top of Villanova’s list.

…Speaking of recruiting, I changed around the format of the Recruiting Page so there are some pictures of our future Wildcats…still working on the format of this site so more changes will be coming soon…