One of nation’s most mysterious recruits makes a move, and it’s good news for UK
Until late Monday night, little was known about the recruitment of Jaden McDaniels, one of the nation’s best high school basketball prospects for the class of 2019.
The 6-foot-10 power forward has now provided some valuable insight into that recruitment, and it’s good news for Kentucky.
McDaniels announced that his final five schools are UK, San Diego State, Texas, UCLA and Washington, a big reveal for a player who had not yet released any kind of college list and has said next to nothing about the state of his recruitment.
UK Coach John Calipari flew to Seattle during the first week of the fall recruiting period earlier this month for an in-home visit with McDaniels, who is the No. 4 overall player in the 2019 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. UK’s coaches also watched McDaniels during his breakout summer on the Nike circuit, and Calipari saw him at USA Basketball camp in Colorado Springs in June.
McDaniels told the Herald-Leader at that event that he’d like to hear more from Kentucky.
“I’d be interested,” he said then with a smile. “A lot of pros came out of there, and they’re a great school. It would mean a lot, just because of the history. To get an offer from Kentucky, that’s something big.”
A few weeks later, McDaniels was asked at Nike’s summer-ending Peach Jam event if he had a “dream school” growing up.
“It was Kentucky, because John Wall was my favorite player,” he responded. “So I wanted to go where he went.”
The Cats will have some stiff competition from four schools that have been recruiting McDaniels for much longer, but he’s made it clear over the past few months that he’s just now starting to get serious about his recruitment and will keep an open mind going forward.
He’s not expected to make a college decision in time to sign during the early period in November.
There were also some notable omissions from McDaniels’ list. Specifically Arizona and Kansas, two schools that national analysts have often floated as possible landing spots for the versatile prospect.
McDaniels’ older brother, Jalen, is currently a star player at San Diego State, one of the five schools that did make the cut. Another one of his finalists, Washington, represents the hometown option.
“That would be fun, just putting on for the city,” he said in July, noting the local pull to keep him in Seattle. ”Everybody’s telling me to go to U-Dub, stay in the purple and gold. But I don’t know what I’m going to do yet.”
Before news of Calipari’s visit to Seattle trickled out a couple of weeks ago, Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans mentioned McDaniels to the Herald-Leader as a player UK might have a good shot at if things got serious. A Herald-Leader poll of national recruiting experts in August also came up with McDaniels as a realistic option for the Wildcats’ 2019 class.
McDaniels made an impression on scouts during the spring, when he averaged 19.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game on the highly competitive Nike circuit and rocketed to top-five status nationally.
247Sports national analyst Evan Daniels told the Herald-Leader recently that McDaniels, who likes to play on the perimeter and boasts a 7-foot wingspan, could go even higher in those rankings. The very top spot is not out of the question.
“When you look at him, you see his physical makeup. His size for the position. The length, the athleticism, how fluid he is,” Daniels said. “And then it’s the developing skill set that allows him to take guys off the dribble, that allows him to grab rebounds, that allows him to see the floor and make jump shots from mid-range out to three. I think he’s solid across the board. But if he turns into a knockdown shooter and continues to develop his footwork and offensive ability, we’re looking at a guy with the upside of a No. 1-type prospect in the class. I think his ceiling is that high. There’s a ways to go to reach that, but I think he has that level of talent.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2018 at 11:11 PM.