Xavier Henry - the saga continues

[Brian Shannon]

Ok first of all - I'm BACK! After some time off from work and out of the house for a few days things are slowing getting back to normal. Yeah I know half of you reading this had no idea I was gone and 3 of the 6 loyal readers that I have just said to themselves "he was gone?" Ahhh it feels good to be back where I'm loved.....anyway on to the BIG NEWS!!

Xavier Henry seems to have changes his mind and now DOES want to come to UK. It appears that the news comes stems from an article that accomplished a couple of things. One was to tick off the Henry boys and/or their father. It seems someone felt as if the article didn't portray them in a faltering way. It left them with the impression they were a little full of themselves. It might have and it certainly could be the reason why but there are also reports coming out that Carl Henry called Calipari a couple of weeks ago to inquire about Xavier being a Wildcat. So this isn't like this just happened because of the article but more like the article was the final straw.

Also the article pointed out that Xavier said he would have gone to UK had it not been for his mom. Now it appears she doesn't want to be the reason he isn't happy and has told him that she wouldn't mind moving to Kentucky as long as he is happy. Combine that with news that Wall and Orton have continued their efforts in getting Henry to come and you end up where we are today. Let's hope that all the drama that has been around Xavier is because he wanted to go play for Cal and not just something that normally follows his family.

So multiple reports were out that Bill Self and Danny Manning hopped on a plane and headed off to OK to talk with the Henry's, who had told a Kansas radio station that they were going to have a family meeting. I guess Bill wants to weigh in on that family meeting. Yet I have to think that the damage is done and Kansas is out. think about this for a second. Let's say the son of a former player like Rex or Richie wanted to go somewhere other than UK. Then something happened that made them open up their recruitment and second time around they pick the Cats. Most fans would be happy yet still there would be something in the back of our minds wondering why they didn't pick us first. Then 2 months after they pick us they start flirting with another team. Naturally all UK fans would be livid, as well they should be. So is there a way Xavier can save face from this? Not going to be easy if it can be done at all.

Now comes some even more interesting information. It seems that Kansas had the heads up about this and actually went back to Lance Stephenson. Lance is a HUGE gamble considering he has a battery and sexual assault pending not to mention question marks about his amateur stats. Is Kansas that desperate? Lance informed them that he had already signed financial aide papers and couldn't come. But really Kansas did you have to have him? Aren't you going to be pretty good without him? Funny they turned their back on Lance 2 months ago in favor of Xavier and then getting wind that he might be leaving the ran as fast as they could back to him. I am betting even if he hadn't of already signed those papers he would have said, you got to be kidding me.

So UK will probably get Xavier will we better or worse? On paper we will be much better having a guy who can knock down 3's and would fill the void left by Jodie. But can he mesh with everyone else at this point. What will the Henry's think the first time they read an article by Jerry Tipton or Mark Story who both at times seem to upset more then double the folks who agree with them. It seems there is a big gamble in taking him, yet if mama had let him come here 2 months ago like he wanted we would still have the same potential gamble on our hands. Without question Calipari is going to be earning his money this year. But wait you have Harris and Perry gone at the end of next season along with the potential of Patterson, Wall, Cousins, Orton and Henry things don't get any easier. That's why he gets paid the big bucks my friend.