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On the first day of the spring signing period, it has been a foregone conclusion for weeks that Gatorade national player of the year Brandon Knight would don a Kentucky cap when he announced his college choice.

A far bigger surprise is the timing of highly touted junior Michael Gilchrist’s commitment.

Wildcats coach John Calipari has pulled off a basketball and PR masterstroke, the very same day he persuaded both Rivals.com’s top-ranked recruits in the class of 2010 and 2011 to pledge to Kentucky in nationally televised announcements.

Kentucky adds two potential cornerstones of future title runs, on the court. Off the court, the Wildcats’ Elite Eight loss to West Virginia and the likely departure of five NBA-bound underclassmen suddenly become old news, replaced by a celebration of the imminent arrival of the program’s next two stars.

A 6-foot-3 point guard, Knight,  who averaged 31.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for Pine Crest High School in Florida, chose Kentucky over Kansas, Syracuse, UConn and Florida. Gilchrist, a 6-foot-6 wing from Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick High School, spurned Villanova and Oregon, following through on a promise he made as early as eighth grade to attend college wherever Calipari was coaching.

“I like Coach Cal a lot, I like his staff and i like the fans there are lot,” said Gilchrist. “They have a lot of energy. It’s really crazy there.”

Even though it is certainly possible that Kentucky’s incoming class will not immediately elevate the Wildcats to the heights that John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins did, it is also tough to imagine the program slipping too far. Adding point guard Knight to a 2010 class that already includes highly touted Turkish big man Enes Kanter and forward Stacey Poole gives Kentucky three potential immediate contributors for next season, while Gilchrist provides the foundation for 2011.

Wednesday, Knight made his announcement  in a packed auditorium at Pine Crest. Asked which school he was selecting, the 6-foot-3 point guard paused for dramatic effect, reached into a bag underneath the table and donned a blue UK hat to a thunderous ovation from his classmates.

“I felt it was the place that had great players, great environment and just a place where I can elevate my game,” said Knight. “It came down to being comfortable there when I went on my visit and feeling I could get better at Kentucky.”

Considering Calipari’s track record with elite point guards in recent years, it is easy to see why Knight would be enamored with Kentucky Derrick Rose is an NBA all-star, Tyreke Evans is the favorite for rookie of the year and Wall is the leading contender to be selected No. 1 in the draft.

With that said Knight is no lock to be one and done — whether his play next season warrants it or not. This highly gifted student reportedly has a 4.3 GPA and has yet to receive anything less than an A in high school.

The Wildcat’s are still very involved with a handful of other elite unsigned recruits in the class of 2010 including guard Josh Selby and forwards Terrence Jones and C.J. Leslie, so Knight will do his part to recruit them.

“There’s a lot of great players out there,” he said. “Whoever wants to come, I’m going to try to get them to come.”

This show is on the road with the number one player not only a  freshman guard John Wall who has NBA scouts foaming at the mouth. Last night, the Gampel Pavilion was jam packed hoping that Kembar Walker, who had been taunting the Wildcats all game, could contain the ferocious Wildcat John Wall. On hand for this star studded event of two nationally ranked schools were Bobby Knight and Pat Riley just to name a few. Coming off his last performance at Madison Square Garden in New York, Wall is becoming something more than just another first round draft pick. He is becoming the guy that you want to give the ball to when the game is on the line. Vegas could not have called this line a Pick-em any better but did they forget they were dealing with the most clutch player in college hoops this season?

Last night, Chad brought all of these scenarios to my attention and boy was he right. Earlier in my blogs I talked about UCONN not playing like a number 13 ranked team in the country and sure enough I am proving this fact more and more. Last game, they were laying 19 points to a small Ivy league school Harvard at home and they won by nine points. Last night, most of the country thought this was a Vegas trap play and all the money was laying on UConn. But another huge play for us – we knew Kentucky had no plans on losing to Connecticut. With seconds left in the game and Kentucky was down, they gave the ball to you know who and he drove to the basket drawing a foul sinking the shot to make it a three point play.  Kentucky ended up beating Connecticut 64-61, thanks to Wall who not only scored the winning basket but he finished with 25 points.

This college basketball season is going to be a lot of fun and a very prosperous one. Money, Money, Money, is the name of this tune. College baskets is where you can earn a lot of money back since you gave it away in football and what better game to start it off with last night for Sure Call’s team.  We had to call our tech guys to speed up the server with the influx of people to the site last night and we are happy that they are all winners today from this game.  We pride ourselves on being leaders, not followers.  With most of the money on UConn last night, we were not afraid to make the right call on Kentucky.  Make sure to find out tonight’s guaranteed winner.