Is G League close to its biggest recruiting addition yet? (And more UK basketball notes)
The recent announcement by No. 1-ranked basketball recruit Jonathan Kuminga that he has narrowed his list of options — amid the ongoing speculation about his possible reclassification — might’ve given Kentucky fans some hope for another high-profile addition to next season’s roster.
It would not be wise to cling to that hope.
Kuminga — a versatile 6-foot-8 forward from Congo, now playing for Nick Richards’ high school alma mater in New Jersey — revealed recently that he has cut his list to Kentucky, Duke, Auburn, Texas Tech and … the G League.
Not long after Kuminga announced that final five, Rivals.com national analyst Corey Evans speculated that the professional path appears to be the most likely one for the player the recruiting services unanimously rank as the top prospect in the 2021 class.
Evans clarified his stance on Kuminga’s recruitment in an interview with the Herald-Leader.
“I don’t even know if I’d say it’s the G League,” he said. “I’d just say professionally, in general. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s overseas in, say, Europe or Australia. Or the G League.
“It’s still in the beginning stages for the G League and Jonathan and those talks. They’ve been pretty clear that they want to keep those talks internal. They don’t want it being broadcast out there. … But I think that, as of now, the push is to play professionally for a year and starting that clock toward the NBA. Whether it’s the G League, whether it’s Europe, whether it’s Australia — wherever it might be.”
Evans acknowledged there has been some recent buzz in recruiting circles that Kuminga might stick in the 2021 class and play another year of high school ball, but he said he firmly believes he will make the jump to the next level — either college or the pros — this year.
The expectation had been that Kuminga would play with his travel team on the Nike circuit this spring and summer, then make a reclassification announcement after those games wrapped up in late July.
Evans said the NCAA’s recent decision to extend its recruiting ban through the end of July — effectively wiping out the regular summer travel schedule — likely will lead to an accelerated timetable for Kuminga’s future plans. He noted another long-rumored reclassification candidate — fellow UK target Moussa Cisse — went ahead and announced he was moving to 2020 around the same time the NCAA’s recruiting ban was extended. Cisse will announce his college decision this week, and Louisiana State is the major favorite.
If Kuminga bypasses the pros to play a year of college instead, UK is not expected to be the pick.
“I think it’s more of an Auburn-Texas Tech battle,” Evans said. “I’m not saying he’s using the names of Duke and Kentucky. I think it’s definitely there, and every elite guy is always going to be interested by Duke and Kentucky, but I think it’s more Auburn, Texas Tech or the professional route right now.”
Kuminga’s brother transferred into Texas Tech’s program last year.
If the star recruit does go the G League route, he’d be the fifth major prospect to join the NBA developmental league’s new program — which will pay its prep-to-pros players six-figure salaries — during this recruiting cycle. Five-star prospects Jalen Green, Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd, as well as highly touted Filipino center Kai Sotto, have already signed on with the league.
Kuminga would be arguably the biggest addition of the bunch. Rivals.com recently ranked the top 100 players in all of high school basketball, regardless of class, and Kuminga was No. 3 on that list, behind only 2022 phenom Emoni Bates and top-ranked 2020 recruit Cade Cunningham, who will play next season at Oklahoma State.
Kuminga and Green were third and fourth, respectively, on the list.
“It would be huge, because we’re talking about arguably the two best high school prospects with Jalen Green and Jon Kuminga,” Evans said. “And then you throw in Daishen Nix and Isaiah Todd and Kai Sotto — you have five pretty tremendous talents. But I think Jon and Jalen Green are two transcendent talents. So if they wanted to really start with a bang, year one, Jon Kuminga and Jalen Green are definitely the way to go.”
G League in the rankings
Jeff Crume, who has compiled the Recruiting Services Consensus Index rankings since 1998 pointed out to the Herald-Leader recently that the finalized list for the 2020 class would have given the G League the nation’s No. 4 recruiting class — if the G League was an actual college team — behind only Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina.
The RSCI predates the 247Sports composite rankings and sets out to come up with one master ranking of the top high school players. The list is compiled of rankings from various nationally recognized recruiting services with a point value being assigned to each top 100 recruit: 100 points for the No. 1 recruit, 99 points for the No. 2 recruit, and so on.
The addition of Kuminga, who would be a surefire top-five recruit in the 2020 class, if he makes that jump, would push the G League past North Carolina and into the No. 3 spot in those RSCI rankings, behind only UK and Duke.
Green is currently No. 2 in the rankings, followed by Nix at No. 16, Todd at No. 17, and Sotto at No. 55.
Who’s No. 1 in 2021?
If Kuminga does make the move to the 2020 class, there will be an empty spot at the top of the 2021 rankings. Right now, Rivals.com, 247Sports and ESPN all have Kuminga at No. 1. So, who gets the honor if he reclassifies?
Rivals.com’s Corey Evans told the Herald-Leader that the recruiting service is going to be updating its 2021 rankings this week. It’s a group effort that includes the input of a few recruiting analysts, and Evans says there’s quite a bit of internal debate over who should get the No. 2 designation behind Kuminga.
“I think it’s more of a three-horse race for that spot: Pat Baldwin, Paolo (Banchero) and Chet (Holmgren). They’re so different,” he said. “Do you go with the unique guy that no one’s ever seen, with Chet? Do you go with probably the most surefire guy that has produced at the highest level every time, in Paolo? Or do you go with the kid that has the most translatable skill set, with Patrick Baldwin? I think it’s to each their own, in a sense. You really can’t go wrong.”
Baldwin and Banchero are both top Kentucky targets. UK is seen as a possible early favorite for Banchero, a 6-10 forward from Seattle who was the MVP of the NBPA Top 100 Camp last year. Duke is seen as a possible favorite for Baldwin, a 6-9 small forward who plays in Milwaukee. The Cats are not recruiting Holmgren, a 7-footer from Minnesota who can protect the rim but also handles the ball, runs the floor and shoots from outside like a guard.
Evans seemed to lean toward Baldwin, a three-point threat with size and length who averaged 24.2 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as a high school junior. Last summer, he played on the same Nike team as five-star recruit and Duke signee Jalen Johnson. This spring and summer, he was primed to become the team’s star.
“Maybe it’s Pat,” Evans said. “I think Pat had an awesome, awesome high school season — not that the other two didn’t. But I just think that Pat is coming into his own, and kind of developing that alpha mentality. Instead of being thought of as the Robin to Jalen Johnson last year. I think he’s kind of coming into being the guy.”
Whoever gets that No. 2 spot now — and whoever moves to No. 1 if Kuminga reclassifies — won’t be safe at the top. This is a debate that will rage well into the high school season, and it won’t be settled until the very end of this recruiting cycle.
“No doubt about that,” Evans said. “And you never know — if we’re talking about good high school seasons, then Jaden Hardy is someone that maybe had the best season of all those guys. Does Jaden Hardy move up into that rarefied air and make himself part of that equation, as well?”
Hardy — a 6-4 shooting guard in Las Vegas — is a major UK recruiting target, and the Wildcats are often viewed as the early leader in his recruitment. He has shooting range that extends beyond the NBA three-point line and averaged 30.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game as a high school junior.
Moussa Cisse watch
Though there is no official time or day set for the college announcement of five-star center Moussa Cisse, he has said it will definitely come this week.
Kentucky is one of his finalists, but Louisiana State is viewed as a heavy favorite to land his commitment. Cisse — a 6-10 prospect from Guinea, now living in Memphis — would be the seventh commitment for LSU Coach Will Wade in the 2020 cycle. After his reclassification announcement last week, 247Sports placed him at No. 11 in the ’20 class, and Rivals.com ranked him 13th overall.
According to the 247Sports “Class Calculator” a commitment from Cisse would give LSU the No. 4 class in the country, behind only Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina.
The Tigers currently have the nation’s No. 6 class, with Tennessee at No. 4 and Arizona at No. 5.
