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Tai Wynyard's Sunday Night News and Views

by:John Wilmhoff•01/25/15•

@JohnWilmhoff

[caption id="attachment_172264" align="aligncenter" width="600"]Tai-Wynyard-1200 Photo courtesy of www.3news.co.nz[/caption] The first Sunday afternoon of the year with no football usually means a slow day in sports, but not for us college basketball fans. Duke stormed back from a double-digit deficit at Madison Square Garden to give Coach K his 1,000th win. While the rest of the world celebrates the milestone, we remember the reason why he should still have 999: Christian Laettner's stomp on Aminu Timberlake. Elsewhere in the ACC, Virgina escaped to stay unbeaten with a 60-57 win over Virginia Tech. The Hokies, 8-11 and 0-6 in ACC play, led for most of the second half but couldn't finish it off. After a lackluster performance by the Cavs, we'll see tomorrow if the Cats could be a unanimous No. 1 once again. Also in action today was the UK women. The No. 14 Cats defeated Missouri on the road, 83-69. The biggest UK news of the day is the commitment of New Zealand big man Tai Wynyard. The 6’9″ 265-pound Wynyard visited Kentucky two weeks ago and liked what he saw, choosing the Cats over Villanova and Texas this afternoon. Currently Wynyard is a member of the 2016 class, but New Zealand's academic calendar could allow him to reclassify to the 2015 class. If Wynyard does reclassify, he'd join the Cats in January, 2016. Now with five projected first rounders on the roster, the sooner Wynard can play, the better. Here is what everyone is saying about the son of two World Champion wood-choppers: ESPN's Fran Fraschilla: What Tai Wynyard means for Kentucky
Tai Wynyard, who committed to Kentucky on Sunday over Villanova and Texas, is one of the best young 16-year-old players in the world at the moment. That doesn't necessarily mean that he's ready-made to step in for the Wildcats. But they are getting a 6-foot-9 power forward who plays with terrific physical toughness inside for his age. He has an ability to make shots away from the basket, but his bread and butter is around the rim. In many ways he reminds me of a young Enes Kanter, a Turkish import who never gained NCAA eligibility at Kentucky and still ended up as an NBA lottery pick with the Utah Jazz.
Scout.com's Evan Daniels: Why Tai Wynyard picked Kentucky
"I commited to Kentucky because I feel like they will push me to my maximum potential, the academic side looked awesome and the facility was great," Wynyard said. What did Wynyard like most about his visit to Kentucky? "The fans," he said. "They were awesome."
Courier Journal's Steve Jones: Wynyard's skills compare to Trey Lyles
Wynyard said he's mostly a physical inside player, but he believes he'll develop into hybrid power forward/small forward at UK as he continues to work on his shooting, ball-handling and other perimeter skills. Calipari told him he thinks his development pattern could follow that of 6-9 UK freshman Trey Lyles, who was almost exclusively a center in high school but now plays primarily small forward.
Herald Leader's Ben Roberts: Pro experience won't impact Wynyard's eligibility
There are no questions about Wynyard's amateur status as a college recruit, unlike former UK recruit Enes Kanter, who played for a Turkish professional team and was later ruled ineligible at Kentucky. Wynyard sits on the (New Zealand) Breakers bench for home games but does not travel with the team and is not paid by the Breakers. His parents and Breakers personnel are aware of the requirements for NCAA eligibility and have kept Wynyard on the path to play in college. "He's not going to have any eligibility issues whatsoever," Jonathan Givony said (of DraftExpress.com). "He's been on the college track from a very early age."
--In football recruiting, there was good news and bad news today. The good news was that Kentucky received a commitment from Ohio 3-star defensive tackle Javon Provitt, who also held offers from Cincinnati, Ohio, West Virginia and Purdue. The bad news is the decommitment of 3-star defensive back Jeremiah Dinson. The Miami native announced the news on Twitter today and is now considered an Auburn lean. --In an NBA thriller between ex-Cats, Anthony Davis (28 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals) carried the Pelicans to victory over Rajon Rondo (17 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds) and the Mavericks. Davis sealed the game with two free throws and a late steal. --Last but certainly not least, congratulations to Randall Cobb on his Pro Bowl debut. I'm a little embarrassed to admit I was watching the Pro Bowl, but Cobb hauled in a 9-yard reception on the game's first drive. @JohnWilmhoff

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