Top recruit chooses Cats

They say the best teams don’t rebuild, they reload.

UK basketball head coach John Calipari and the Cats got a verbal commitment Wednesday that should go a long way in proving that mantra true.

Rivals.com’s No. 1 recruit in the 2010 class, Brandon Knight, committed to UK on the first day of the spring signing period.

Knight, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound point guard from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., will attempt to become the latest point guard to flourish under the tutelage of Calipari.

In the 2007-08 season Derrick Rose guided Calipari and the Memphis Tigers to within seconds of winning the National Championship as a freshman. Rose went on to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft after leaving following his freshman season, and won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award.

Tyreke Evans then committed to Calipari the next season, was drafted fourth overall in the NBA Draft after leaving after his freshman season and is now the favorite to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award. Evans is just the fourth player in NBA history to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in his rookie season.

John Wall took over the Big Blue Nation, earning SEC Player of the Year honors and being named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press. Wall is also projected by many analysts to become the No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.

Knight averaged 32.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game in his senior season at Pine Crest School.

Knight is the third recruit to commit with the Cats for the 2010 class, joining Stacey Poole Jr., and Enes Kanter, who signed a National Letter of Intent earlier Wednesday.