Patterson, Kentucky, and Duke in Recruiting Triangle

Word on the street is the heralded 5-star recruit and uncommitted McDonald's All American, Patrick Patterson, is getting the benefit of some "negative recruiting" thrown his way.

Background: most believe that Patterson's short list of five currently favors two SEC schools -- Florida and Kentucky. But Patterson has made it clear he's not happy about signing up with a school if the coaching (including staff) situation is volatile.

Now jump over to the horse racing and basketball state. Fact: Kentucky wants... needs Patterson in much the same way that Jani Lane wants cherry pie.

But Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart, in response to the Big Blue Nation's restless unease, released a statement last week which seemed to be vaguely-but-not-so-much supportive of head coach Tubby Smith despite a couple of "un-Kentuckylike" seasons. The gist of his statement? That Tubby's work would be evaluated at the end of the season, after the Wildcats' tourney whirl was complete.

Most read Barnhart's statement to indicate that Tubby was on thin ice. Including, apparently, Duke. From Matt Jones at KentuckySportsRadio.com:

"So there has been much speculation as to what the now infamous statements made by Mitch Barnhart about Tubby Smith are supposed to mean. On ESPN tonight the statement was made that it was a supportive interview designed to give Tubby the backup he needs for recruiting. On Around the Horn, it was called a "vote of confidence" that could leave the door for a later firing. I think both of these are slightly off. This statement was made for recruiting purposes and to let folks know (specifically Lucas and Patterson) that if they come here, Tubby will be here. This viewpoint is even more likely when you hear the "news" reported by John Clay of the Herald Leader that the Duke coaching staff called Patrick Patterson and read him Barnhart's original statement word for word so as to convey the view that Tubby was gone. Now I cant speak to Clay's sources on this one ... but if true, it showcases just what a screwup the Barnhart original statement was."

Duke? Duke could do such a thing? I'm shocked! Truly, truly shocked. Now, not to confuse you, but Matt Jones was referring to Barnhart's second statement on the matter, which he made in order to clear up the confusion about his first one. Here's what he said in an AP interview:

"Tubby's our basketball coach. He's done a great job of representing the platform of Kentucky basketball. We'll always look to make adjustments to the things we've got to do to get better. Tubby and I will do that collectively."

Huhwha? Help us out, Lexington Herald-Leader (two word emphasis added by yours truly):

Although that sounded like Barnhart saying Smith would return as coach next season, UK spokesman Scott Stricklin cautioned against drawing any conclusions.
"His hope and his goal and his interest is trying to help all his coaches be successful," Stricklin said of Barnhart. "Obviously, Tubby is his basketball coach right now, and he wants to see him be successful."

In his interview with The AP, Barnhart noted how a statement he made on Feb. 27 had been misinterpreted.

Barnhart acknowledged fan disappointment before pointing out that success in March could put a different spin on the program when it gets the routine end-of-season review.

Some saw that as suggesting a coaching change might be imminent.

"They were reading way too much into that," Barnhart told the wire service.

Okay. Message received. Chaos reigns in Lexington. That ought to clear it up for you, Patrick.