Kentucky basketball fans who keep one eye on the future can rest a little easier: John Calipari has his first commitment for the class of 2012.
Archie Goodwin, a five-star shooting guard from Little Rock, Ark., announced Tuesday night that he had chosen the Cats.
"If you don't know by now I'm a Wildcat!!!" Goodwin said via Twitter.
The 6-foot-4, 180-pound senior picked UK over Arkansas and Memphis. The announcement came less than a week after Calipari’s in-home visit with the star recruit.
Goodwin is ranked among the country’s top prospects by all of the major recruiting services: Rivals (No. 12), MaxPreps (No. 5), Scout (No. 13), ESPN (No. 13) and PrepStars (No. 12).
His style of play is well suited for Calipari’s dribble-drive offense. He can penetrate to the basket, shoot well from long range and is known to be an unselfish passer. He also plays with tremendous effort on the defensive end.
Goodwin is the first addition to what should be a large recruiting class for the Cats. UK remains in the mix for several five-star targets, and Calipari has been telling recruits that he’s looking to add five to seven players for the 2012-13 season.
Darius Miller and Eloy Vargas will exhaust their eligibility this season, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb are expected to leave for the NBA, and three of UK’s four incoming freshmen have been projected as lottery picks.
Goodwin told ESPN late Tuesday that he hopes his announcement will have some influence over his fellow 2012 stars.
"Me committing will probably get the ball rolling for the rest of the class," Goodwin said. "It's got to start somewhere."
UK could be in for more good news Wednesday. Perry Ellis, another five-star recruit, will announce his decision at 3:45 p.m at his high school gym in Wichita, Kan. The 6-foot-8 forward will choose between UK, Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State.
Even if Ellis doesn’t pick UK, Calipari will have plenty of other targets.
The Cats are among the finalists for Shabazz Muhammad, Dajuan Coleman, Devonta Pollard, Robert Carter, Alex Poythress, Willie Cauley, T.J. Warren, Anthony Bennett and Mitch McGary, all of whom are ranked in the top 50 by Rivals.
Several of those players have already confirmed they will attend Big Blue Madness on Oct. 14.
