Avery: "I know they really like basketball now."

The Los Angeles Times this morning includes an Eric Sondheimer column on new UK basketball commitment Michael Avery, now college basketball's most famous eighth-grader.

The column's title: "Eighth-grader is taking on a lot of pressure."

Sondheimer focuses on high school sports in L.A., and in the column Avery admits (sort of) that he wasn't quite prepared for the attention his public commitment to the Cats has received.

Commenting on all the calls he's taken, Avery says, "I know they really like basketball now."

Other highlights:

• "I'm getting a lot of phone calls I'm not used to."

• "I really like Kentucky basketball. That's why I committed. I've been following their program for a long time."

• Avery's next coach, his high school coach, Russell White of Encino-Crespi, said, "The sooner the 'Kentucky-bound' disappears as an adjective from his name, the faster we can move forward."

Warning: If you are among the UK fans who think the Cats are receiving a bad national rap over offering an eighth-grader a scolarship, you might want to take your blood pressure medicine before reading this one.

Writes Sondheimer, "Avery played for Belmont Shore in a travel tournament two weekends ago at USC's Galen Center, and he looked overmatched in his brief appearances playing against high school juniors and seniors. Anyone could have picked him out as the eighth-grader."

One more note: The story's sub-head refers to Avery as "Mark Avery."

Comments

[kentuckygman]

You do yur job and Big Billy will do his. Wanting to go to UK should be every kids dream!