Which basketball recruits are most (and least) likely to pick UK? Here’s the list.

The early signing period for college basketball starts next week, and Kentucky has extended eight scholarship offers to uncommitted recruits in the class of 2018.

Some of those players are long shots to join the Wildcats. Some are expected to be UK commitments by the end of the early cycle.

Here’s our pre-signing period projection on UK’s chances with each of the players on its offer sheet, from least likely to most likely to pick the Cats:

8. Romeo Langford: On this list only because he technically has a UK scholarship offer, there has been zero buzz surrounding the five-star shooting guard and the Wildcats for several months. He’s expected to cut his list to three schools sometime soon, and Kentucky almost certainly will not be among that trio.

7. Darius Garland: UK is one of the final four schools on Garland’s list — Indiana, UCLA and hometown Vanderbilt are the others — but the Cats are seen as major long shots to land the five-star point guard. Kentucky already has a commitment from five-star point guard Immanuel Quickley and could return highly touted freshman point guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Quade Green from this season’s team.

6. Bol Bol: The 7-3 power forward from Los Angeles has cut his list to Oregon and Kentucky, and the Ducks are big favorites heading into the early signing period. Bol seems intent on staying on the West Coast for his college career, and — while it’s been narrowed to a two-team race — UK doesn’t appear to have much of a chance.

5. R.J. Barrett: The No. 1 recruit in the country has been relatively quiet since cutting his list to UK, Duke and Oregon earlier this fall. He’s scheduled to announce a college decision Nov. 10 at 6 p.m., and the Blue Devils are expected to be the choice. UK fans are holding out hope for a Kevin Knox-type situation — Knox was also seen as a Duke lean in the final days of a close-to-the-vest recruitment before ultimately picking UK — and such a scenario is not unthinkable. However, there has been more concrete info in recruiting circles regarding Barrett’s recruitment than their was for Knox’s.

Duke was seen as the favorite for the 6-7 shooting guard heading into his official visits, and it doesn’t sound as if anything happened to change his mind. (Another minus for UK: There’s been more buzz for Oregon as the non-Duke option than there has been for the Cats in recent weeks).

4. Quentin Grimes: A couple of weeks ago, there was optimism — maybe even confidence — in UK’s camp that the Cats would land Grimes, a 6-5 combo guard from Texas. That seems to have waned in recent days. Officially, Kansas, Texas and Marquette are the other finalists for the five-star recruit, but the Golden Eagles are no longer seen as a potential landing spot.

Kansas remains the favorite here, but Texas Coach Shaka Smart visited with Grimes on Wednesday night, and the Longhorns are now being mentioned behind the scenes as a more likely darkhorse candidate than Kentucky.

3. Zion Williamson: “Murky” and “foggy” are two of the words that recruiting insiders have used to describe the 6-6 forward’s recruitment in talks with the Herald-Leader in recent days. The No. 2 recruit in the country has now taken fall visits to UK, Clemson, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina, and he hosted coaches from the first five schools on that list for in-home visits this week.

A couple of months ago, this was viewed as a Kentucky vs. Kansas battle. Last month, Clemson emerged as possibly UK’s top competition. In a recent interview with Scout.com’s Evan Daniels, the analyst mentioned Duke as the Cats’ biggest barrier to landing Williamson.

The constant here is that Kentucky has been a perceived frontrunner for several weeks now, while others at the top of the list have changed. That’s obviously good news for UK, but this recruitment still remains a bit of a mystery. And (for whatever this is worth) the Herald-Leader was told this week that Clemson is the program expressing the most confidence behind the scenes.

2. Keldon Johnson: With a final four of UK, Maryland, North Carolina State and Texas, the Oak Hill Academy (Va.) standout is expected to make a college decision this month, though no specific date has been set. Kentucky has been seen as the favorite for a while now — and that’s still the case — but the Cats aren’t yet locks to land him.

Texas was long viewed as the Cats’ biggest competition for the five-star shooting guard, though Maryland now seems to have claimed that spot. Daniels specifically mentioned the Terrapins as a team to watch earlier this week, and someone else close to the recruitment told the Herald-Leader this week that Maryland is the team that Kentucky should fear most.

1. Tyler Herro: No. 1 with a bullet on this list, Herro and Kentucky appear to be moving very quickly following the four-star shooting guard’s decommitment from Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago. UK assistant coach Kenny Payne called Herro last week, then John Calipari visited him in Milwaukee on Tuesday and extended a scholarship offer during that trip. The next day, Herro told Scout.com that he’ll be taking an official visit to Lexington next weekend.

Oregon and Villanova were also expected to get official visits — and Kansas and Butler have been in the picture, too — but the trip to UK is the only one Herro is expected to take before the early signing period ends Nov. 15. He had planned to take his recruitment into the winter and sign in the spring, but the Cats have moved quickly, taken over as the clear favorites, and could have Herro in the fold very soon.

The Cats’ class: UK is in a great spot for Herro, should ultimately land Johnson (though there’s still some work to be done there), and seems to be the most likely destination for Williamson. If that Cats could add those three recruits to a class that currently includes five-star point guard Immanuel Quickley, it would be a tremendous four-player group heading into the winter.

It might also be all Kentucky needs, with several talented players expected to return from this season’s team. UK needed guards, and this would give them three very different backcourt players, plus a uniquely talented prospect in Williamson, who could play several different roles.

Calipari would also likely have a leftover scholarship or two to spend on any intriguing recruits who don’t sign early or pop up on UK’s radar later in the season.

This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Which basketball recruits are most (and least) likely to pick UK? Here’s the list.."