Blakeney may cancel UK trip, will visit later

Five-star shooting guard Antonio Blakeney said it's looking unlikely that he'll attend Kentucky's Big Blue Madness on Friday for an unofficial visit, but he is staying in regular touch with UK coach John Calipari and says he'll definitely take an official visit to Lexington at a future date.

Blakeney, a former Louisville commitment who's rated the nation's No. 13 prospect by Rivals.com, said scheduling conflicts with his mother could lead to them not making it to Madness as he'd originally planned.

"I'm not 100 percent sure, but the chances are not looking good," Blakeney said.

But if the visit is canceled, that's no indication that mutual interest between Blakeney and the Wildcats has waned. He spoke with UK's coaches on Tuesday, and they have discussed a couple dates for him to officially visit.

Blakeney said he exchanges text messages with Calipari four or five times a week.

"They're just telling me that they feel they can help me reach my full potential and that I'm a priority for them," he said. "They really want me to come in and play and compete."

Blakeney said Calipari has been texting him recently during the NBA preseason games of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Julius Randle and other former UK players who are in the league.

"He'll just say, 'Hey, Tone, if you've got time, turn on the TV. Watch some of the guys,'" Blakeney said.

Blakeney did not watch last Friday's UK pro combine, but Calipari told him about the event.

What was Blakeney's reaction that the coach was able to organize a practice that was nationally televised and attracted about 90 NBA scouts?

"That he's a powerful guy," he said. "That's something big to do, something real big for a coach to do.

"… It definitely impresses me because that shows you he's about his players. … He told me that he really wanted to do it to help his players, to give his players an opportunity."

Blakeney said Calipari has compared him to former UK combo guards Archie Goodwin, Eric Bledsoe and Doron Lamb, who are now in the NBA, "because I can shoot and my athleticism."

"He pretty is just saying he wants to help me be a pro," Blakeney said.

Even if Blakeney doesn't attend Big Blue Madness, Calipari will still have an impressive guest list of elite recruits.

The Cats are expected to host five-star 2015 targets Jaylen Brown, Stephen Zimmerman, Malik Newman, Carlton Bragg and Brandon Ingram, four-star 2015 UK commitment Charles Matthews and five-star 2016 targets Tyus Battle and Derryck Thornton.

Blakeney took his first official visit since withdrawing his Louisville pledge last weekend to Missouri.

"It was good. It was great, very impressive" he said.

He plans to officially visit LSU on Nov. 7.

Blakeney feels that he rushed his decision to commit to U of L last month, a pledge he made shortly after returning from an official trip to Louisville over Labor Day weekend.

He withdrew the pledge 11 days later and said he's being patient and judicious with the process going forward.

"Stuff is going good," he said. "It's a lot of pressure, but you know how I made the quick decision the first time, I'm really just sitting back and thinking and looking at everything, every conversation and taking everything serious because this is a serious decision."

Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.