Kentucky Wildcats may snatch two elite recruits from Indiana Hoosiers

Mar 23, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari (left) embraces Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Crean (right) following the game in the semifinals of the south region of the 2012 NCAA men /

Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Head Coach John Calipari and Indiana Hoosiers Head Coach Tom Crean claim to be great friends, despite being the coaches of two of the blue-bloods of college basketball, as well as hated rivals throughout the history of both programs.

"“There’s no question in the last couple of years, as we’ve gone through this, that the phone has rung, and I’ve answered it and it’s been him (Calipari) more than really anybody else outside my family,” Crean said in an interview last March."

That friendship is about to be put to the test. In the past year, IU has lost commitments from two elite recruits in the 2014 class. Trey Lyles, a 5-star forward and near-consensus top-10 player, decommited from IU last April after he originally committed to Indiana in September 2010.

On Thursday, nearly three years after committing to the Hoosiers as a 14-year-old prospect, James Blackmon Jr. decommitted from IU. Blackmon is rated as a 4-star shooting guard by ESPN and the 25th best prospect in the 2014 class.

Not 24 hours after he decommited from IU, Blackmon Jr. picked up a scholarship offer from John Calipari and UK, according to his father, James Blackmon Sr., who once played for the Cats in the 1980s.

And as it stands, UK is the favorite to land both in the class of 2014. If that does indeed transpire, it will be interesting to see how long Crean and Cal’s “relationship” lasts after that.