Uncertainty surrounds the top basketball recruits left on UK’s 2019 wish list
UK’s basketball recruiting efforts for the class of 2019 have hit a bit of a speed bump.
With three commitments already in the fold and three weeks to go until the start of the early signing period, the Wildcats’ focus has been centered on six highly touted prospects: James Wiseman, Vernon Carey, Isaiah Stewart, Jaden McDaniels, Matthew Hurt and Keion Brooks.
Most of those players have already taken official visits to Lexington. John Calipari has made multiple trips to see all of them since the fall recruiting period started last month.
Still, UK doesn’t appear to be a clear favorite for any of those six players. That doesn’t mean the Cats should be counted out of any of those recruitments, though.
“I don’t think there’s a clear leader for any of those six,” 247Sports national analyst Evan Daniels told the Herald-Leader this week.
The top players in the class have done a good job of keeping those who follow recruiting guessing. As a result, it has been tough for analysts to confidently name a favorite for many of the nation’s most highly touted prospects.
“I expect that to kind of sort its way out in the near future,” Daniels said. “Look, all these guys outside of Matt are taking official visits and starting to attempt to figure out their recruiting process. These guys are trying to sift through those schools, their priorities, and what they want in a college. Obviously, certain kids’ recruitments, over time, we can usually gauge and come up with a leader. These guys, I think, have done a good job of handling their process and keeping it close to the vest.”
Hurt — a 6-foot-9 forward from Minnesota — is the only player on that list of six that has not yet taken any of his official visits. Wiseman wraps up his visits this weekend with a trip to Memphis. Carey, Brooks and Stewart are all expected to be finished with their official visits in time for next month’s early signing period, which runs Nov. 14-21. And McDaniels took his first official visit (to San Diego State) earlier this month.
A few of those recruits will probably make their college decisions in time for the fall signing period, but where they end up remains a guessing game.
That could be good news — or bad news — for Kentucky.
Asked if he would rule out the Cats as the destination for any of those six players, Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans offered a quick “no.”
“Matt Hurt is all over the place. Who the heck knows there,” Evans said. “I think it’s going to be difficult to get Jaden McDaniels off the West Coast, but they’re in the final five for him … and they might get him on campus next month sometime.
“Keion Brooks, he’s always been very intrigued by the Kentucky thing ... but he doesn’t really answer their frontcourt needs. I think Indiana and Michigan State are two to watch there.”
Kentucky already has commitments from five-star point guard Tyrese Maxey, five-star wing Kahlil Whitney, and four-star wing Dontaie Allen — and the Cats could return multiple players from this season’s backcourt — so the focus has been on shoring up the team’s frontcourt, which could lose all of its current players after this season.
(UK is also still being tied to class of 2019 point guard Cole Anthony, but he’s expected to release an updated list of schools soon, and it would be a surprise if Kentucky is on it).
Brooks and McDaniels prefer to play on the wing, and Hurt, who still has several top schools on his recruiting list, also likes to play away from the basket. That makes Carey, Stewart and Wiseman the three truest frontcourt players remaining on UK’s radar.
“As of right now, I don’t think they’re the leader for any of those guys,” Evans said. “I think the likeliest guy is still Wiseman. I think it goes back and forth so often with him. With Isaiah, that one’s all over the place. I think Duke is going to make a hard push. And I think Duke and Michigan State are the two to beat, right now, for Vernon Carey.
“If I was a betting man, I’d put Wiseman as the best shot, Isaiah as the second-best, and Vernon last.”
Stewart’s recruitment has been especially interesting.
He added UK to his list after landing a late scholarship offer from Calipari last month, then took an official visit to Lexington a couple weeks later. By that time, Kentucky had emerged as a possible favorite. That perceived momentum stalled almost immediately, and Stewart then took back-to-back official visits to Syracuse and Michigan State. He has also visited Washington and might be on Duke’s campus in the near future.
After some recruiting analysts had written UK off as a possible destination, there was Monday’s news that Calipari planned to visit Stewart again this week. Evans said he expects Stewart to make a fall decision.
“Isaiah is hearing them out,” he said. “And if he wasn’t interested in Kentucky, he’d be telling Cal, ‘Hey, don’t come. There’s no use. Thanks, but no no thanks.’ So the fact that he’s willing to accept Kentucky coming in again means something.”
And then there’s Wiseman, the 7-footer from Tennessee who has been at the top of Calipari’s recruiting wish list for more than a year. His recruitment is still expected to come down to UK and Memphis, though he’s also taken official visits to Florida State, Kansas and hometown Vanderbilt.
To illustrate the hard-to-predict nature of the guys currently on UK’s 2019 radar, Wiseman is the only player from that group for whom Daniels has logged a Crystal Ball prediction. That pick is in favor of UK, but it was also made last October. Now, it looks like a toss-up.
“I’m indifferent on a leader with James Wiseman, in all honesty,” Daniels said this week. “I couldn’t pick one.”
UK’s top remaining targets in the class of 2019
This story was originally published October 24, 2018 at 8:59 AM.