Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports
After making some big news by backing out of his commitment from Indiana, James Blackmon Jr. was immediately rumored to be favoring the Kentucky Wildcats. His father, James Blackmon Sr., spent four seasons playing basketball in Lexington and his son may want to keep the family tradition alive. Due to a multi-million dollar renovation, the locker rooms now are a far cry from what Blackmon Sr. used back in the 80s.
While Blackmon Jr. will not admit playing at the same college as his dad is a factor in his recruitment, he is already following in his father’s footsteps in high school. Blackmon Jr. plays at Marion High School in Indiana, where his dad currently coaches and was named a McDonald’s All-American during his playing days. Taking a look at his dad’s old stomping grounds in college was probably pretty cool with all the great memories involved.
According to an interview with Louisville’s newspaper The Courier Journal, Blackmon Jr. says those top-of-the-line amenities really stood out at Kentucky. He was able to tour the brand new locker room and practice court. He was even able to shoot some jumpers with incoming freshman Julius Randle, and meet Andrew and Aaron Harrison. They all knew each other from playing on the AAU circuit in high school.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari was the leader during the campus tour, and then sat down with Blackmon Jr. to give him the pitch to play at Kentucky. He is noted for telling recruits Kentucky isn’t for everyone. You will always have a target on your back, and you will always be someone’s Super Bowl. The challenges of living up to the highest of expectations and dealing with the harshest of criticisms is part of the daily life as a basketball player at Kentucky. Luckily for the Wildcats, Blackmon Jr. says he likes the challenge.
For Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness on Oct. 18, Blackmon Jr. will be in attendance on an official, all-expenses-paid visit. He will be joined by shooting guard Stanley Johnson and fellow Indiana decommit Trey Lyles, who will visit Big Blue Madness unofficially.
Brian Lewis is an SEC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. You can add him to your network on Google for more of his work.
