Potential class of 2012 Penn recruit was former UK commit

Michael Avery, a 6'5 rising senior at Crespi High School (Cali.), reportedly named Penn as his "dream school," according to a tweet by The Recruit Scoop.

TheRecruitScoop Alex Kline

2012 SG Michael Avery on his Penn visit: "That Penn visit was the best visit I have ever been on.. that was crazy! It's my dream school."

Obviously, it's early but this is noteworthy for Avery's backstory alone. Back in 8th grade, he made headlines nationwide for accepting a scholarship offer to play college ... at the University of Kentucky. Already standing 6'4 at the time, Avery impressed then-coach Billy Gillispie at an AAU tournament so much that he got the offer and later made the verbal commitment.

Not too surprisingly, things didn't necessarily pan out the way they were expected to three years ago (would have been remarkable, honestly, if things didn't change). Anyway, Gillispie was fired a year later and Avery and UK sort of went their separate ways over the next two years. On the court, Avery played well but apparently not 8th-grade UK commit well — to the point that he now does not have a scholarship offer. That must be partly due to the fact that he was forced to sit out his junior season after he transferred back and forth from Crespi, but it also shows how life can change quickly (and why, for the sake of both parties, no 8th grader should be getting scholarship offers).

Read his story here.