Gillispie: Jasper is "homesick"

By JEFFREY McMURRAY
Associated Press

LEXINGTON Sat, May 17 2008

— Kentucky guard Derrick Jasper has indicated he's homesick and hasn't decided whether he'll return to the Wildcats next year, coach Billy Gillispie said Thursday.
Gillispie says he'd heard the rumors about Jasper's homesickness since he arrived at Kentucky, but the coach remains optimistic the junior will ultimately stay put.
"He hasn't made any kind of decision, but we definitely need him over here," Gillispie said. "He is a leader for our team. I think he is going to be an all-Southeastern Conference type player next year, if he can maintain his health."
If Jasper goes home to California, Kentucky could be extremely thin at the guard position.
Two starters, Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford, have graduated. Jodie Meeks underwent surgery earlier this month to repair a bilateral sports hernia. Another guard, Alex Legion, left the Wildcats early in his freshman season and transferred to Illinois.
Gillispie announced one newcomer to next year's team, confirming that junior college transfer Kevin Galloway of Sacramento, Calif., had signed a national letter of intent. Galloway ranked fourth in the country with 8.6 assists per game last year at Southern Idaho and averaged 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds.
"He is a multidimensional player," Gillispie said. "He is tall, long and athletic, and he has experience. His team was considered to be the best junior college team in the country last year."
In the wide-ranging news conference, Gillispie also dismissed as rumor speculation that Oklahoma State had targeted him to coach the Cowboys, who ended up hiring UK alumnus Travis Ford. He refused to talk about whether the school had made overtures to him to succeed Sean Sutton.
"There is no reason to address those things until they become real - and they never became real," Gillispie said. "It becomes real when the people that are making a decision contact a potential candidate."