The dynasty is back!!!

[whorstman]

Billy Gillespie has gotton his 1st stud!

Alex Legion

Legion (6-5, 208) originally signed with Michigan in
the fall, but requested a release from his
letter-of-intent after Wolverines coach Tommy Amaker
was fired. The Detroit native scrambled to put
together a new list of schools, but decided to end the
process just three days after returning from an
official visit to Kentucky.

"It was kind of a whirlwind thing," Smith said. "He
had a list of two or three schools, then it grew to
five or six and more people were calling wanting to
see if Alex was interested in visiting. UCLA was
calling. UConn was calling. Florida was calling.
Kansas was calling. Michigan was still interested.

"I think it got a little overwhelming for him, and he
realized he just didn't have time to make all of these
trips. And after visiting Kentucky, I think he and his
mother was so impressed with them that they didn't
need to drag the process out any further."

Smith said Legion faxed the paperwork to his mother
Tuesday morning. She was expected to sign and send the
documents to UK later in the day. Those are thought to
be scholarship papers. Since he already signed an LOI
with Michigan, Legion cannot actually "sign" again
with Kentucky per rules which limit one LOI for a
player during an academic year.

In Legion, the Wildcats are getting one of the top
offensive threats in the Class of 2007. He is rated
the No. 43 prospect in the country by Rivals.com. As a
senior at Oak Hill, he averaged 19.7 points per game
while shooting 52 percent from the field, 42 percent
from 3-point range and 80 percent at the free throw
line.

"He could have easily averaged 30," Smith said. "But
the teams we have obviously have a lot of other
scoring options. He played this year with a kid who's
going to Duke, Nolan Smith, and a point guard, Brandon
Jennings, who may be the No. 1 junior in the country.
It was a great backcourt with all three guys capable
of scoring 25 or 30 points on a given night."

Smith said Legion has been labeled as a "shooter,"
sometimes at the exclusion of the rest of his game,
but has been working hard to improve his all-around
skills.

"He's a tremendous shooter, so he kind of gets branded
as that's all he can do," Smith said. "But of all the
things you want to known for as a basketball player, I
would think that's the one you'd want. He can really
shoot. He's got the range well beyond the 3-point
line, he's got the intermediate game you don't see
from many kids these days, and he's great at the line.
He had a run of hitting 40 or 42 (free throws) in a
row at the end of the year."

Smith said Legion's work ethic will also fit in well
with what he's heard about new UK coach Billy
Gillispie.

"He's a kid who's up at 6 in the morning doing his
workout and then back again at 4 in the afternoon
doing another regimen," Smith said. "He'll do it
whether I'm with him or not. He's just a very
dedicated player.

"Most kids his age aren't as concerned about their
body as he is. He's 208 pounds and there isn't an
ounce of fat on him whatsoever. I haven't seen many
kids like him in that regard. He's got great stamina
and endurance. His legs are the same in the fourth
quarter as they are in the first quarter.

"Plus, we play 41 games and travel quite a bit, so
he's used to that kind of schedule. He's been on espn2
two or three times. He's not a kid who's going to be
shell-shocked when the lights come on."

Smith also praised Legion's intelligence and mental
approach.

"Alex is a bright kid who isn't hung up on the NBA at
all," he said. "All kids think about it, and that's
what they'll put down if you ask them what their goal
is, but Alex doesn't have that one-and-done mentality
that you see from so many other kids.

"He picked Kentucky with five other guards in their
program right now, so that shows you he's not hung up
on getting out of there as soon as possible. I don't
even think he's hung up on starting. He knows they
have (Ramel) Bradley and (Joe) Crawford and the
(Jodie) Meeks kid, so it's not real likely that he'll
start. But he's going to play a lot as a freshman, no
doubt about that."

The decision to attend Kentucky also shows where
Legion's priorities are, according to Smith.

"He could have gone a lot of other places where he was
promised a starting job or a certain amount of playing
time," Smith said. "But Kentucky kind of reminded him
of the way it is here at Oak Hill, only at the next
level. Their expectations are high like ours. They
expect to play for championships every year. That
meant more to him than playing time."

Rivals.com national basketball analyst Jerry Meyer
offered the following scouting rebort on Legion:
"Legion is a valued commodity because he has size and
is a very good shooter. He is exactly what Kentucky
needs on the wing because he is a catch and shoot guy
first. When people rush him, he is adept at taking a
couple bounces and then separate and shoot over his
defender.

"Other areas of his game such as ball handling,
passing, defending and rebounding need work, but I
expect those areas to significantly improve in a
college setting playing for the Kentucky coaching
staff.

Kentucky now has three signees in this year's class.
In addition to Legion, the Cats picked up Florida
forward A.J. Stewart and Virginia center Mike Williams
during the fall signing period.

UK is still awaiting word on Texas point guard Jai
Lucas, West Virginia power forward Patrick Patterson
and Arkansas combo forward Michael Sanchez this
spring. The Cats are expected to sign two more
players.
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