Vinny Zollo- Greenfield McClain

[ChuckHayes44]

From what I hear on the web Vinny will visit UK on Monday and will more than likely give a early verbal. Anyone else hearing this?

[Dshanton3]

would be absolutely shocked if this was the truth. nowhere near skilled enough to be offered. He's big, but will he grow, will he grow big enough to be a post player, will his size force him to develop a game on the wing, does he have the coordination to develop a wing-type game? too many questions for this kid. its way too early. he'll be a good player but this has got to be a rumor. He's got a tweener game in an undeveloped/unpromised (height) body.

[poppaball]

I guess it wouldn't surprise me much. I was watching games, of Ohio kids, at the King James tournament and UK's HC was there as well. Vinny was probably the best player (at least the game I saw) on a very talented Indiana team. He hustled, scored from the outside and inside, rebounded well, and ran the floor as well as anyone. He's a tall kid, but not skinny, probably in the 210-220 range. He does, however, need to look to drive more. I noticed that sometimes late in the game he would settle for a long-two rather than just driving to the basket.

How did he end up playing for an Indiana team anyway?

[friday_nite_fan]

He's a tall kid, but not skinny, probably in the 210-220 range.

Are you sure you are talking about the same kid?? When I saw him play at the Convo a couple months ago, he was skinny as a rail.

[ChuckHayes44]

I doubt it's just a rumor...Scout.com is reporting that he has an offer from UK and there should be a podcast up sometime today/tonight on kentuckyink.com so check it out.

[CoyDuke]

Well I have to say congrats to the young man from McClain. You have to be happy for him for this opportunity.

I, like Dshanton3 am a little surprised a program the caliber of UK would commit so early to him. I watched him in Athens, and I thought he was outstanding for a 9th grader, but he still needs a lot of improvement to be an SEC player.

[Judge Smales]

Sounds like this is a done deal!
Congrats Vinny! GO BIG BLUE!

[poppaball]

I didn't see him play any school ball, but I've seen him on the summer ball circuit over the last few years, so I can only assume that we're talking about the same kid. I can't think of too many Zollo's.

I was surprised at the weight he has put on, and I don't mean that badly. His legs are pretty thick and it looks like his shoulders are filling out from last year.

His AAU team is extremely tall (at least 2 kids 7', and a couple more that are close to the same height as Zollo) which allows him the option of playing the wing, making some real mismatch headaches for opponents. He was able to guard the perimeter players, allowing him to use a 3 skill-set with a post players size. The game I watched I'm sure he had a double-double and possibly another double w/assists, but I didn't keep count.

Since I don't know about his school ball and their style, I can't really comment, but sometimes players abilities match one style of ball over another. I'm not disrespecting either style, (assuming the styles are different) but I've seen it happen with more than one player.

There are supposed to be a couple of other Ohio kids on this team which I was hoping to see as well, but either they were no-shows or are no longer with them. Does anyone have any idea?

[brutally honest]

Wow! That's really all I can say. I've seen Zollo play and Dante play and no offense to Zollo but Dante is/was a better player and has/had more potential IMO. As we all know, Dante ended up at Xavier, a nice school, but nowhere near that of a Kentucky in terms of prestige, history, and overall quality. For Zollo to be getting such notice from that elite of a program this early in his career would have to be sour grapes, especially if I was a Dante Jackson type player.

[ChuckHayes44]

Jackson was recruited by UK....well Tubby recruited him. Billy G has picked up recruiting heavily since he's been at Kentucky. You never know, with Billy G talking to him maybe Jackson would be at UK right now.

[BLUEGRASSVIKE]

Not shocked to see coach G offer early at all. it is a running joke here in the bluegrass about how he recruits kids at a very young age. I am however surprised to see that he recruited Zollo. No offense to the young man, but he is very unpolished. I saw him in Athens and he was tore up by Guthrie, but who knows he is still young and has the potential to develop into a good one. I will say this if Coach G misfired on this one he will be crucified in Lexington. I have never seen a community follow college b-ball like Lexington.

[Hitchbone64]

Remember....The offers are only verbals until the Junior year.

The kid has some upside, but I did not see UK upside in the 2 games I saw. I do like his outside shot, but I did not think he was that agile. He will need to develop some serious footwork and work on his quickness.

However, it would be tough to shine in McClains system, but I saw at least a dozen kids this year that had more upside then this kid. That said, I wish him the best.

[GalliaGrad78]

Shocker! Not at all impressed with his play at Athens this year. Who is pulling the strings at UK?

[theassassin]

i trust billy g judgement a lot more than the posters on here. am sure he has a little more experience recruiting college basketball players than the posters on seohio preps.

[ChuckHayes44]

I would have to agree with you there lol...I think he knows what he's doing. Heck he just got a verbal from an 8th grader yesterday (No I'm not kidding)

[GalliaGrad78]

Only time will tell fella's. Trouble is, by the time that it does, I will probably be too old and even more feeble-minded to remember to tell you that "I told you so" LOL

[mhs82]

Brutal: I am a UK fan from way back - but at this time I would put to put Xavier's program right up there with UK's. Xavier made it all the way to the elite 8, finishing season at 27-6. Along the way they beat every Big 10, Big East, and Big 12 team they faced and also 2 of the three SEC teams they played (losing by 7 to Tennessee). Xavier has been solid for several years and they have the coach and the players to continue to be a national contenders for the next several years. Granted, they have a VERRRRRRRRRY long way to go to think about comparing to UK's overall success, but so does every team not named UCLA, Indiana, or North Carolina. Xavier was a much better choice for Dante than UK at this point in time - close to home, highly respected coach, he had the chance to sit behind and learn from one of the premier point guards in the country, and will get plenty of playing time the next three years.

As for Zollo, he has the potential, but I think he is still pretty rough. He will never compare to Dante.

[ChuckHayes44]

From what I have been hearing, Zollo said he may move to Lexington Catholic or Scott County to play basketball in the future. (Both right there by UK).

[Bubblegumhuffy]

News tonight on Zollo, he has commited to UK as per catspause.com. There has also been alot of talk over there about him going to Scott county or Lex Catholic as said previously. Sad to see a kid with this much talent leave the area, but glad to see him get the opportunity to play at Kentucky.

[mhs82]

Some questions posters may be able to answer for me:

1. If strength of competition truly means something, isn't this a good move on the part of the parents? Seems to me he will play against and with better talent somewhere outside of SE Ohio. However, it did not seem to hurt Dante that he played at McClain and against SE schools.

2. Should a coach cater to the parent of a potential superstar? I know Robyn was upset with the way her son was handled at McClain, but shouldn't the coach be more concerned with all his players, not just one?

3. Does these players moving around amongst high schools in order to improve their recruitablity hurt or help high school basketball? Or is that even important how it effects HS basketball because it is the kids that are the most important?

4. If you were the parent of a potential D1 recruit, would you uproot him/her from friends and community that he is familar with in order to improve his recruitment position? College is very expensive these days and scholarships may be the only way to get through school for some people.

5. From what you have seen of Vinny, is UK rolling the dice on this or does this kid really have the talent to play at one of the most storied D1 programs in the country? IMO he was only the third best freshman in Highland County this year - he must have some serious potential that I don't see in order to get this type of attention.

6. In the past year, McClain has lost Chris Cox (best freshman in Highland County this year) to Leesburg Fairfield and now have lost Vinny Zollo to points unknown. Seems reasons given by both had something to do with the Coach. Should this concern Tiger faithful? Has VanMatre finally lost it and is losing his best players or are the parents wanting too much control in the program? Seems Larry Jordan at SE is having his issues these days, is VanMatre next?


For the record, I am a McClain grad, but daughter is cheerleader for Hillsboro, so Vinny leaving helps the Indians, but it won't matter because Laike Wallace from Miami Trace will dominate this league in a few years. IMO Wallace will outshine everyone that I currently know of in the league so Vinny leaving may be a smart move.