He committed to Kentucky last year but hasn’t signed yet. His reason is important.
Five-star basketball recruit Kahlil Whitney has been committed to Kentucky — his self-described “dream school” — since early August, so when the Chicago native declined to officially sign with the Wildcats in November’s early period, it gave some fans pause.
That type of move — at least since John Calipari has been the coach in Lexington — is unheard of among UK recruits.
Despite Whitney’s repeated explanations of how he plans to sign — and his unwavering support of the UK program as a senior at Roselle Catholic (N.J.) this season — rumors persisted.
When former Kentucky assistant coach Rod Strickland — now the G League’s “professional path” manager — started showing up at Whitney’s high school games, people wondered if the UK commitment might take that new route to the pros.
When UK’s pursuit of Keion Brooks — a similarly positioned perimeter forward who has now committed to the Cats — started heating up, some questioned whether there would be enough playing time for all those talented wings next season.
Through it all, Whitney has remained steadfast in his commitment to the Cats. He wanted to make that clear again this week at the McDonald’s All-American Game.
“I’m 100 percent Kentucky,” Whitney told the Herald-Leader. “I’ll be signing my letter of intent May 3. For all the BBN, for all the Kentucky fans — there’s no worries.”
Whitney’s plan has not changed since the fall. His story on why he decided not to sign early is the same now as it was then. The 6-foot-7 prospect from Chicago — who moved to New Jersey to live with his father early in his high school career — wants to share the biggest moment of his basketball life with the folks back home.
Whitney has talked at length in the past about surviving gun violence as a kid in Chicago, experiencing firsthand the kind of turmoil that can destroy young lives.
That’s why he wants to officially sign his papers to play college basketball at the University of Kentucky in front of the students at Gregory Academy, his old elementary school in Chicago.
“I’m doing it for the kids,” Whitney said. “The kids where I’m from — a lot of kids don’t have that hope. I got an opportunity and I grasped it, so I want those kids to know that anything can happen, and you can make it from where I’m from.”
Despite living most of the past three years in New Jersey, the future Kentucky Wildcat still considers Chicago home. That’s where much of his family still lives, and the one-week early signing period in November made it difficult to get back there and carry out his plan to sign in front of the kids.
About a month after he finally makes his UK commitment official, Whitney will be on campus and ready to get to work for next season. One of the top 10 recruits in the 2019 class, he’s expected to be an instant-impact player for the Wildcats, and he’s looking forward to the competition.
He already had a friendship with fellow McDonald’s All-American and UK signee Tyrese Maxey, and he spoke highly of both Brooks and Dontaie Allen — another perimeter forward who has signed with Kentucky — saying that the four future Wildcats have grown close over the past few months.
As far as a concern over playing time at the position, Whitney welcomed the battles in practice.
“If it comes down to somebody going at each other for minutes, I feel like we all have a competitive edge,” he said. “So we’ll just go and see who takes that spot. … I’m close with all those guys, and we got a good relationship. We’re just going to come in, work extremely hard and try to win a national championship.”