The future of Kentucky basketball will once again be well represented at this year's biggest high school all-star events.
UK signees Archie Goodwin and Alex Poythress were among the 20 high school seniors chosen to play in the 11th annual Jordan Brand Classic, the event's organizers announced Thursday. The game will be played April 14 in Charlotte, N.C., and televised live on ESPN.
Also participating will be UK recruits Shabazz Muhammad, Anthony Bennett and Tony Parker. UK's other signee, four-star center Willie Cauley, was not selected.
With Goodwin and Poythress, UK's number of Jordan all-stars moves to 17, more than any other school. John Calipari has been responsible for 12 of those players, and the UK coach is looking to build on that success with more additions from this year's class.
Calipari traveled to Nevada on Wednesday to see Bennett practice before watching Muhammad score 21 points in a league victory. Muhammad was the unanimous No. 1 recruit in the country before Nerlens Noel joined the class of 2012 late Wednesday night. Bennett is a consensus top-10 prospect. Both Muhammad and Bennett have UK high on their lists and are expected to wait until after the season to make a decision.
Noel, who ESPN elevated past Muhammad into the No. 1 spot in its 2012 rankings Wednesday, was not selected for the Jordan game.
News of his reclassification came just hours before the rosters were announced. ESPN senior recruiting analyst Dave Telep wrote Thursday that "there's an excellent chance" the event's organizers would add Noel over the next few days.
Noel lists UK among seven possible destinations, and the Cats are widely thought to be one of his two favorites along with Syracuse.
Parker, the other UK target in the Jordan game, is a five-star power forward. He's also considering Duke, Ohio State, UCLA and Memphis.
The Jordan Classic has turned into somewhat of a showcase for future Wildcats over the past couple of years.
In 2011, Anthony Davis had 29 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks and was named a co-MVP. LeBron James is the only player in the event's history to score more points than Davis.
In 2010, Doron Lamb announced during the game that he would sign with Kentucky.
The all-star season's other marquee event, the McDonald's All-American Game, will be played March 28 in Chicago. The rosters for that game will be announced Feb. 9, and several UK signees and targets are likely to be included.
The biggest local all-star event, the Derby Festival Classic, could benefit from Cauley's omission from the Jordan game.
Last year's Derby Classic was the first in 38 years that did not include a future Wildcat. With all four UK signees selected to play in the Jordan Classic and McDonald's game, and an NCAA rule prohibiting players from participating in more than two all-star events, the Derby organizers were left empty-handed.
This year's Derby Classic will be played at Freedom Hall on April 6.
