Derrick Jasper, come on down...

Tubby Smith has taken unfair grief for his recruiting...Despite landing more McDonald's All-Americans than Ricky did, the Tubster still gets whined about. You'd think after last year's 3 Burger Boys + Bradley haul, people would chill, but they haven't.

But if the class Tubby & Co. have lining up now comes to fruition, folks better shut the hell up. The first kid to committ was Michael Porter, a sleeper point guard from Modesto, the same high school that produced Chuck Hayes. That turned out pretty well, don't you think?

Porter was a two-sport star until this year, and had garnered some interest from PAC-10 schools for football. A four-year recruit in the Fitch mold, he was blown away on his visit and committed upon returning home. His father, not to be overlooked, is his coach -- and was Hayes' as well.

But the first big fish was landed yesterday, when another California point guard verballed to the Cats. Derrick Jasper, a 6'6" point guard ranked between 35-60 in the various HS rankings, announced he's headed to Lexington. Jasper is a Tubby kid, a tall guard who can swing over to the two if need be and who loves defense and rebounding.

And the California pipeline may not be dry yet...Deon Thompson, a power forward from the Golden State, is scheduled for a Midnight Madness visit. Couple these developments with the ongoing recruitment of top 5 forwards Brandan Wright and Thaddeus Young, and the reportedly imminent verbal from Jodie Meeks, a Georgia combo guard, and UK has the makings of a recruiting haul on par with 2003-2004's Morris/Crawford/Rondo/Bradley class.

Hell, maybe even better.