Kentucky making Paolo Banchero a major recruiting priority. Will he stay in 2021 class?
The latest cross-country trip by John Calipari to see five-star basketball recruit Paolo Banchero has rekindled rumors of a possible reclassification and brightened hopes that one of the best prospects in the country might be ready to join Kentucky’s program next season.
While Calipari would surely love to have Banchero on UK’s campus as soon as possible, it sounds as if nothing much has changed in his recruiting outlook. He’s widely expected to remain in the class of 2021 and play one more season of high school basketball after this one.
“I think he’s still set on 2021,” Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans told the Herald-Leader this week.
Evans acknowledged that “things could change” regarding Banchero’s status in the coming months — high-profile recruitments are often fluid — but the Seattle native appears set on staying where he is.
The Herald-Leader was told following Calipari’s visit last week — the latest in a string of West Coast trips to see Banchero over the past few months — that there was virtually no chance the 6-foot-9 forward would jump to the 2020 class, a move that has been talked about in recruiting circles but one that Banchero has shot down repeatedly.
Often in recruiting, players will deny rumors of reclassification only to ultimately move up a class anyway. In most of those cases — even as the public denials are made — there are clear signs that a reclassification is indeed likely to happen. Banchero’s recruitment does not fit that description. In fact, Evans just last week posted a rundown of high-profile 2021 recruits that were seen nationally as reclassification candidates, and Banchero’s name was not on the list.
The Herald-Leader was also told after Calipari’s latest trek to Seattle that the curious timing of the visit — a cross-country trip on a weekday in the middle of the Wildcats’ conference schedule — was not a plea for reclassification, but a statement by Kentucky that Banchero is simply that important to the program. In short, Banchero is just too good not to show that kind of attention, even if he’s still months away from a college decision.
Evans came to a similar conclusion.
“That might have been just Cal giving his due diligence and making that kind of impression on him. Which, it did,” he said. “A guy going in the middle of the season out to Seattle — a head coach — that says a whole lot. And you better believe Paolo took note of that as well.”
A future No. 1 recruit?
Banchero’s talent is undeniable.
Last season, he averaged 18.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game while leading O’Dea High School to its first Washington state title in 12 years. This past summer, he was one of only four players on the Nike circuit to average a double-double — while leading the league in rebounding — and went on to win most valuable player honors at the prestigious NBPA Top 100 Camp, despite being a year younger than most of the top recruits he was competing against.
He’s continued to put up big numbers this high school season, and he’s ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 2 overall player in the 2021 class. If current No. 1 junior Jonathan Kuminga reclassifies to 2020 — something that is expected later this summer — Banchero would be next in line for the top spot. He’s obviously emerged as a top Kentucky frontcourt target.
“He’s definitely the No. 1 guy for them at that spot,” Evans said. “They’ve really locked in on two guys so far — Jaden Hardy and Paolo. That’s their top two guys in 2021, and rightfully so.
“I just think that’s Cal trying to get ahead of the ballgame here and seeing what he can do with maybe shutting it down early. I don’t know if he will shut it down early. Paolo has always talked about taking things through the summer. But I do think that Kentucky is in a very, very good spot for him.”
It’s worth noting that Evans put in a Future Cast prediction in favor of Kentucky on Banchero’s page back in August, and he logged a pro-UK pick for Hardy — a 6-4 shooting guard in Las Vegas and the No. 6 player in the junior class — this week.
Evans reiterated his feeling that Banchero — like Cade Cunningham in the 2020 class and Isaiah Stewart in the 2019 class — is the most “can’t-miss” prospect in the class of 2021.
“He’s everything you look for in a ‘4’-’5’ man,” he said. “He has great, great size. He’s now probably 6-9 and 225, 230 (pounds). He’s become even more comfortable facing the basket, and I think he really wants to become that kind of guy. But he also still knows where he’s at his best, and that’s with his back to the bucket. He has great hands, great counter moves, a great feel, a great IQ for the game, as well.
“He’s arguably the best halfcourt player in the 2021 class.”
Just 17 years old
One variable that has always made a Banchero reclassification unlikely is his age. He doesn’t turn 18 years old until November — the next college season would have already started by then — and he’d be remarkably young for the 2020 class. Relative to their respective classes, a reclassified Banchero would be three months younger than Kevin Knox was as a UK freshman, and Calipari spent Knox’s entire stay in Lexington reminding people that he was one of the youngest players in college basketball.
Evans mentioned an unofficial top five of UK, Duke, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington — Banchero has visited all five schools — in this recruitment. Coaches at those programs and others will continue to keep close tabs on him throughout the spring and summer, and the 17-year-old phenom will continue work on his areas of weakness before arriving on the college campus of his choice.
“I think it’s picking the spots of when to play facing the basket and when to play with his back to it,” Evans said. “I think it’s also about improving that face-up game that he wants to become so good at. And, he’s a good athlete, but when we’re talking about the NBA guys — can he reach that next level as an explosive kind of guy? And also defending in space — can he guard away from the basket?
“It’s more a fine-tuning thing as opposed to improving on a major deficiency. He has none of those.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 7:40 AM.
