Dave Beckerman tried.

Not in a pushy way -- he knows Brandon Knight already has dozens of hangers-on pushing and pulling him one way or another, so he'd never impose anything on him. But Beckerman, the New Haven native and longtime UConn fan who coached Knight at Pine Crest School in Boca Raton, Fla., tried in his own way to persuade Knight to choose Jim Calhoun and UConn over John Calipari and Kentucky.

Didn't work. Knight, was we all know, opted for Lexington last April in a press conference at Pine Crest School that I attended (I was on vacation in Florida at the time).

Why did Knight go Blue? Beckerman thinks there were various reasons.

"The (Jasper) Howard issue, the issue of health with Jim Calhoun, his contract, the (NCAA) investigation. A lot of things added up, and at the end of the day may have even been used against UConn, which I’m not sure of.”

He also noted that Knight had relatives who lived in the Lexington area.

On Thursday, Knight talked about his decision to choose UK over UConn. "It was a tough decision, but Kentucky was my final choice. I liked UConn, but I just felt better off going to Kentucky," adding that Beckerman informed him about UConn, but "really just wanted the best for me.”

He also noted that Calipari's success with one-and-done point guards like Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans and John Wall also played a role.

“It definitely weighed in my decision, just knowing that a lot of other guards that were pretty good in high school trusted Coach Cal to get them to the next level, and to help them get better individually. Also the fact that other players around those people got a lot better.”

Knight’s decision was crushing to UConn fans at the time. Around the same time, the program was being shunned by other top recruits (Josh Shelby, Corey Joseph and Doron Lamb, who’s also now a freshman guard at UK), and Knight’s nix seemed to hint that Calhoun was slipping on the recruiting trail.

Rather, it may have been a blessing in disguise. Had Knight committed to UConn, Shabazz Napier almost certainly wouldn’t have come to Storrs (at least for this season; Napier said he may have opted for another year at prep school had Knight become a Husky).



And though Jeremy Lamb had already committed to the Huskies, it’s doubtful he would have emerged as the dynamic, versatile scorer he’s become over the past couple of months.

It’s also hard to envision how Walker and Knight would have shared the same backcourt, even if both have proven quite adept at playing off the ball.

Still, Beckerman, who founded the former New Haven-based Starter sports apparel line and was the head coach at Hamden Hall for a few years, can’t help thinking of how life would have been different for Knight in Storrs.

“I think he clearly would have been a much more offensive threat,” Beckerman said. “I don’t know if that would have taken away from Kemba in terms of offense, and I don’t know if Kemba cares about that. Calipari is trying to mold him into a pass-first,shoot-second point guard. Jim Calhoun lets the natural instincts come out in a player. That’s his formula for success.”

Knight averaged 17.3 points and 4.2 assists per game as a Wildcat freshman. He’s reached double figures in all but three of UK’s 37 games, but has really risen to prominence in the NCAA tournament. Knight’s bank shot with two seconds left against Princeton (his only two points of the game) kept the Wildcats from an embarrassing first-round loss. And his jumper with 5.4 seconds left against Ohio State moved the Wildcats into the Elite Eight, where they beat North Carolina behind Knight’s game-high 22 points.

Knight’s Kemba-like ability in the clutch is nothing new to Beckerman, who recalled a regional championship game in Knight’s junior season. Pine Crest was losing, one of its best players had just fouled out and everyone on the bench – including Beckerman – had their heads down.

During a timeout, Knight turned to Beckerman and asked, “Coach, what time is practice tomorrow?” He then proceeded to go out and hit three 3-pointers and six straight free throws over the next three minutes, propelling Pine Crest into the state finals with a 52-point effort.

Now Beckerman, who winters in Boca Raton while coaching Pine Crest but spends his summers in Guilford, will be torn while watching the Final Four. He’ll root for Knight to have a good game, but root for UConn to win.

And deep down, he’ll still wonder what it would have been like had Brandon Knight become a Husky.

“It would have been great for UConn,” Beckerman said, “and, candidly, I think it would have been great for Brandon.”

Tell us where you've heard this one before: Jim Calhoun says that signing a contract extension with UConn is just around the corner.

“It’s signaturable,” Calhoun said of the contract, while perhaps making up a new word along the way. “Right now, it’s up to the university. As soon as they say ‘go,’ as far as I’m concerned, it will be done.”

Of course, Calhoun said back in January that his extension was essentially done, and after a source with knowledge of the situation told me in mid-March that it would be a done deal in about a month, Calhoun said the same thing publicly.

A Wall Street Journal story on Wednesday noted that questions surrounding Calhoun’s unsigned contract, coupled with health issues that sidelined him for seven games this past season, had scared off potential recruits, including Josh Selby, the McDonald’s All-America guard who recently signed with Kansas University.

In fact, over the last couple of weeks, the Huskies have whiffed on some of the most sought-after recruits in the country. Selby, Brandon Knight (Kentucky), Doron Lamb (Kentucky), Corey Joseph (Texas) and C.J. Leslie (North Carolina State) all were heavily recruited by UConn but ultimately chose to go elsewhere.

Still, when reached on his cell phone this afternoon while he was on his way to a round of golf with his son and George Blaney, Calhoun said he is “thrilled” with the five members of the program’s incoming freshman class, which is ranked No. 17 in the nation by scout.com and includes Roscoe Smith, the scouting service’s No. 6-rated small forward.

“I like the kids we have here,” Calhoun said. “We didn’t get everybody we started out after, no. But we got more guys than we expected.”

Calhoun apparently is referring to the fact that two players – 6-foot-9 power forward Tyler Olander of Mansfield and 6-foot point guard Shabazz Napier of Cambridge, Mass – were originally slotted as Class of 2011 recruits. But Olander elected to graduate from E.O. Smith High this spring rather than return to prep school for a year. Napier has been awaiting word from his prep school, Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass., on whether he’ll be able to re-classify from Class of 2011 to 2010. According to one source, Napier received word on Wednesday that he’s good to go for next season. However, sources around the program said it wasn't a done deal yet.

If Smith, Napier, Olander, 6-4 shooting guard Jeremy Lamb and 6-9 center Michael Bradley are all to suit up for the Huskies next season, something must be done to make room for them. UConn has nine returning players, which would give them 14 players for 13 scholarship spots.

Calhoun said he’s had discussions with freshman guard Jamaal Trice, who didn’t see a single second of action in Big East play this past season, about playing time next year and a possible transfer, though nothing has been determined.

Asked if senior center Jonathan Mandeldove, who effectively red-shirted last season after struggling with academics, is definitely in the mix for next year, Calhoun said: “Talk to me after finals.”

Read more on the potential NCAA investigation into UConn's alleged recruiting violations in tomorrow's Register.

... Well, not actually sailing, but that's where we're heading to for the week. With this week being the start of national signing period, and with UConn hopeful (but doubtful) Brandon Knight announcing his collegiate choice on Wednesday on ESPNU, it would seem to be a bad time for me to take a vacation. But, we like to escape the (sorta) cold weather at least once each year, and I can't exactly do that from November to March (although this year ... never mind). Plus, it's the wife and my last chance to get away before we welcome our newest addition, a boy, some time in early July.

But enough about me. Here's some links on another pair of UConn recruits, recent commit Shabazz Napier, who had himself a night the other night, and undecided Corey Joseph, courtesy of FOB (Friend of Blog) Chris O.

Make sure to check in on the Register website next week, as Dave Solomon and other writers will keep tabs on who commits to UConn, etc. I'll be back next Saturday.

We had it all/Just like Bogey and Bacall ...