So here’s the truth.

I’ve never really been all that interested in college basketball recruiting.

There, I said it.

Sure, I want my team to bring in blue-chippers with gold stars by their names, or whatever system they’re using nowadays to rate players. But I’ve never really been all that interested in the soap opera aspects of it.

The constant updates on the lives of 16- and 17-year olds, the preliminary lists that include about 17 schools, and of course, those silly made-for-TV press conferences where the kid puts out a bunch of hats and uses them to select his school of choice.

Yes, you see this Duke hat here? Watch me as I pick it up and place it upon my head, therefore signaling to the world that I shall become a Dukie.

Yea, I never got that.

Like I said, I’ve never been a recruiting guy. That is, until now.

As you’ve probably know, John Calipari was announced yesterday as the next coach at Kentucky. And as you probably know, Calipari had three of the top five recruits in country lined up to go to Memphis. Those recruits being Xavier Henry, DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall. Now all three recruits will most likely reopen up their recruitment. Lance Stephenson, another top-10 recruit who was thought to be leaning toward Kansas, is still making up his mind.

What does this all mean? Ladies and gents, welcome to Recruitapalooza 2009.

This chaotic, unpredictable recruiting festival could potentially last all month long. And chances are, we’ve never seen anything like it.

Here’s The Morning Brew’s five-minute guide to Recruitapalooza ’09.

Xavier Henry

Hometown: Oklahoma City

Position: guard

Height: 6-feet-6

The skinny: Henry’s top two choices were Kansas and Memphis. He chose Memphis. Why? His brother, C.J., who actually committed to Kansas a few years ago before deciding to go play minor league baseball, is on the roster at Memphis. But now Coach Cal is gone. Did we mention Henry’s father, Carl, played basketball at Kansas? See, I told you this stuff was interesting.

Prediction: Kansas

Lance Stephenson

Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.

Position: guard/forward

Height: 6-feet-6

The skinny: Multiple reports had Stephenson locked in on Kansas, but Stephenson called off a press conference on Tuesday and will wait to make his decision. I guess Lance just didn’t want to miss out on Recruitapalooza.

Prediction: If Henry comes to Kansas, Stephenson will probably be forced to go to one of his other top choices, St. John’s or Maryland.

John Wall

Hometown: Raleigh, N.C.

Position: guard

Height: 6-feet-4

The skinny: Wall, a point guard who has drawn comparisons to Derrick Rose, has been sly during the recruiting process, but it looked like he was leaning toward Memphis. Now that Calipari has left Graceland, Wall could follow Calipari to Kentucky. Of course, he had mild interest in Kansas, so you never know.

Prediction: Kentucky

DeMarcus Cousins

Hometown: Mobile, Ala.

Position: center

Height: 6-feet-11

The skinny: Cousins, like Wall, was heavily leaning toward Memphis, but he hadn’t signed with the Tigers yet. Cousins also had interest in Kansas State, and now, with former Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant taking the Alabama job, there’s a rumor that Cousins may want to stay home and play for the Crimson Tide.

Prediction: Kentucky

The Tipping Player

Remember Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point? The worldwide bestseller discussed how social trends move through society, and it seems the sports world isn’t immune to this phenomenon.

Ever heard of Stephen Strasburg? He’s the baseball super-prospect from San Diego State whose fastball tops out at 103 mph and who looks like he should be on the front of the Lucky Charms box*.

*It’s an Irish thing.

Chances are you’d never heard of him until last week. But now, Strasburg is a living, breathing, smoke-throwing version of Gladwell’s tipping point theory.

It started with a Sports Illustrated feature story last month. Soon, ESPN’s media machine jumped into the fray. And now, it seems Strasburg mania is taking over the baseball world.

Strasburg, a six-foot-four, 255 pound power pitcher with command of his offspeed pitches, struck out 133 batters in 97 innings last year as a sophomore, including 23 in one game against Utah.

Of course, Strasburg is being advised by everyone’s favorite super-agent, Scott Boras. And a report last week suggested that Boras will attempt to negotiate a record $50 million contract for Strasburg, who will likely go No. 1 in MLB’s amateur draft. Apparently, nobody told Boras about the economic recession.

— — Edited by Realle Roth