Kentucky Coach John Calipari watched big man Willie Cauley play Friday night. He watched him play football.It worked.Cauley, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound basketball center, who plays wide receiver and cornerback for Northwest High School in Olathe, Kan., said Monday that he has committed to play basketball at Kentucky.

Long, lean forward Willie Cauley of Olathe, Kan., will play in college for one of those big basketball schools whose name starts with a “Kentucky”, but not the one you might expect.
Cauley decided late Sunday he will become a Kentucky Wildcat in the fall of 2012, choosing UK over Kansas State, Alabama and Florida according to Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi. Cauley joins top-20 wing Archie Goodwin as UK recruits in the current prep senior class.
Cauley was scouted by the Kansas Jayhawks during the summer, but KU reportedly never offered a scholarship and was not among the final four schools Cauley considered.
Cauley, who is 7-0, 225 pounds, is rated the No. 39 prospect in his class by Rivals. He is mobile and aggressive and has been a terrific rebounder at the high school level, but he’ll need strength to continue controlling the boards as a collegian and to develop his ball skills in order to become a great all-around player.


Cauley has spent the fall playing football as a wide receiver for Olathe Northwest High and caught four touchdown passes in one game.