Sports

When Raiders Become Wildcats

Kentucky-bound: Ex-Walton hoopster Ryan Harrow, rising football seniors Daron and Zach Blalock.

sports fans will be keeping an eye on a Lexington, Ky., dateline for the next few years. 

Former Raiders basketball standout Ryan Harrow, who averaged 9.3 points a game as a freshman at N.C. State, arrived in the Bluegrass for summer school this week after announcing his transfer to Kentucky in April. He'll sit out next season under NCAA transfer rules, then is likely to succeed point guard Marquis Teague, who's expected to head to the NBA. 

Says UK coach John Calipari of Harrow: "He better bring it."

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Unlike so many of Kentucky's "one-and-done" stars, Harrow might have a longer shelf life if he can, indeed, bring it. He'll have three years of eligibility, and may have an even larger backcourt burden. Guard Darius Miller will be a senior, and rising sophomore Doron Lamb figures to join Teague in the NBA draft. 

One of Walton's most hotly-recruited athletes in recent years, Harrow signed with N.C. State, but decided to transfer in April, a day after coach Sidney Lowe was dismissed. 

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Harrow also visited Georgia Tech, Louisville and Texas before deciding on Kentucky. 

He's featured in the accompanying videos of the schoolings he dished out in rivalry games against Pope and Wheeler a couple years ago. 

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The twin sons of former Atlanta Hawks point guard Mookie Blalock are taking the direct route to Lexington, and they're getting their recruiting over early. 

Rising Walton seniors Zach and Daron Blalock announced their verbal commitments this week to the Kentucky football program. They will be two-way players in their final season for the Raiders, but they were recruited to play safety and linebacker, respectively, in college. 

They also visited Ole Miss. A Kentucky football site noted that Daron Blalock recently wrote a school paper on why he thinks athletes who give their word to a school should not be allowed to de-commit. 

Wildcats fans will have to wait until the February football signing period before that word becomes official.


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