Recruits gather for Derby Festival Classic
April 9, 2009 by James Pennington · Leave a Comment
Cats fans waiting to catch a taste of some of next year’s newcomers don’t have to wait until next season.
The 2009 Wazoo Sports Derby Festival Basketball Classic, an annual game featuring some of the nation’s top prospects, will be played Saturday in Louisville’s Freedom Hall.
Among the participants for Saturday’s game are UK signees Jon Hood and Daniel Orton, and Louisville signees Rakeem Buckles, Peyton Siva and Stephan Van Treese.
Another participant, Nolan Dennis, has made headlines relevant to Cats fans lately. Dennis signed a letter of intent to play for John Calipari at Memphis before even making an official visit to the campus. When Calipari resigned at Memphis to take over the head coaching job at UK, Dennis asked for a release from his letter of intent.
Dennis has reopened his recruitment and expressed interest in playing for Calipari at UK.
Commits to Indiana, Illinois, UCLA, Florida State, Villanova, Minnesota, South Carolina, Kansas, Southern California, Florida, Oklahoma State and Syracuse will also participate in the game.
The Derby Festival Classic has hosted many UK notables in the past, including Jamal Mashburn, Derek Anderson and Rex Chapman. Other noteworthy figures to have participated in the Classic include Dominique Wilkins, Moses Malone, Isiah Thomas and Dajuan Wagner.
