Analyst explains Brandin Podziemski’s rise and Kentucky’s chances with 2021 recruits
In a normal year, star Wisconsin recruit Brandin Podziemski might have received some recognition in the national rankings a little earlier.
“Obviously, it was a very weird summer,” 247 national basketball director Eric Bossi told the Herald-Leader last week.
COVID-19 precautions led to a drastic change in the grassroots basketball calendar in 2020. There were few major camps, and the shoe company leagues were called off. As a result, those under-the-radar high school players that normally would have had a chance to emerge onto the national scene never got that opportunity.
Podziemski — a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Delafield, Wis. — might be the best example of that. He’s getting some attention now, however.
The new 247Sports rankings that were released last week placed Podziemski at No. 74 nationally in the 2021 class, a jump of more than 200 spots. It was the biggest rise, by far, of anyone moving into the top 100.
Bossi said he first started hearing good things about Podziemski in the spring and was able to watch some of his games (online only) during the summer. Those viewings showed “kind of a mixed bag,” according to Bossi, who said Podziemski looked like he had a clean shooting stroke but wasn’t incredibly consistent.
In early October, Bossi made it to Milwaukee to see Podziemski in person.
“I’m not going to say that the competition he was facing was killer, by any means. But he just dominated people,” Bossi said. “And I thought, ‘Well if this is who this kid really is, he’s at least a Top 100ish-type player in the country.’ And then going back and watching him online perform in more fall leagues — he only got better.”
The week after Bossi’s initial writeup of Podziemski, the Wisconsin player landed a Kentucky scholarship offer. The next night, he got one from Kansas.
Podziemski wasn’t going up against consistently elite competition in fall league play, but his numbers were impossible to ignore. He averaged 31.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Perhaps most importantly, he made 33 of 55 three-point attempts, a 60-percent clip. Last week, he had two 36-point games to start the high school season.
“He’s got a little bit of athleticism. He definitely plays with a swagger and a confidence about him,” Bossi said. “Shooting translates, and I felt that he’s shown enough to go ahead and give him some credit and take a chance on him in the rankings.”
The Kentucky and Kansas offers generated major attention in recruiting circles, but it’s important to note that all sides are taking this process slowly. No commitments sound imminent, and the blue blood programs are hoping to see more of Podziemski over the course of the school year. Ideally, he’ll be able to make some campus visits — if the NCAA lifts its recruiting dead period next spring — before making a college decision.
Analysts like Bossi would also like to see more of Podziemski over the next few months. Despite his rankings rise, he largely remains an unknown commodity in national recruiting circles, and a larger sample size of work will be needed before making any grand predictions on how he might impact a high-major college program as a freshman.
“Assuming what he’s been doing these past couple months doesn’t go away — and that’s who he is — yeah, I think he can come in and be a reliable shooter early on,” Bossi said. “Obviously, the level of program he selects and who is or isn’t there is going to have a major impact on that. But I think anyone who’s recruiting him — they’re recruiting him because of that tool, that shooting ability. And they’re sure going to hope that he can come in and knock down some shots.”
Jaden Hardy and Kentucky
Moving up one spot to No. 3 overall in the new 247Sports rankings was Las Vegas-area combo guard Jaden Hardy, who last year became the first backcourt player in the 2021 class to land a Kentucky scholarship offer.
There have long been rumors that Hardy might jump straight to the pros — possibly taking the relatively new G League route — but no final decision is expected anytime soon.
“Ever since Jaden Hardy came onto the scene, there’s been talk that there’s a good chance that he might not ever play college basketball,” Bossi said. “This is going back two years. Normally talk like that doesn’t fire up that early without there being some reason behind it. You know, someone has said something to someone along the way about his plans for the future. And, obviously, we have seen other guys take a professional route, so it’s not unreasonable to think.”
Bossi did say that if the NCAA changes its name, image and likeness rules — an ongoing debate that would allow college athletes to make money and retain their amateur status — in time for next season, that could change things for Hardy.
“Or maybe the kid just wants to go to college for a year,” he said. “I had been of the thought for a bit that maybe UCLA had kind of taken the lead, in terms of (college) recruiting. But, if he is going to go the college route, it sounds — at least recently here; the last week or two — that maybe Kentucky is starting to make a bit of a push again (as the favorite).”
247Sports analyst Travis Branham also wrote last week that he sees Kentucky as the slight college favorite for Hardy — ahead of UCLA but likely behind the pros — going into the season.
Landing Hardy would be a huge addition for the Wildcats. He’s arguably the best offensive player in the entire 2021 class and would likely be one of the top scorers in college basketball next season, if he decided to go that route.
Latest on Hunter Sallis
The other major backcourt player on Kentucky’s 2021 radar is Omaha point guard Hunter Sallis, who stayed at No. 6 overall in the new 247Sports rankings. (That site lists him as a combo guard, and while the 6-5 playmaker can certainly be effective off the ball, he’s arguably the most versatile point guard in the 2021 class).
Sallis still has eight schools on his list.
“I don’t think anything is going to happen with him anytime soon,” Bossi said. “I think Kentucky has certainly got a good shot. I made a Crystal Ball pick for them quite a while ago. But it’s not a situation where I feel like, ‘Oh yeah, they’re a lock. They’re the team to beat.’ I think them, North Carolina, Gonzaga — I think Gonzaga is a sneaky one to watch in there.”
Sallis has already taken an official visit to Gonzaga, and the early success of similarly talented point guard Jalen Suggs this season can only help the Zags’ chances with Sallis.
He still wants to visit Kentucky and North Carolina before making a college decision, but the NCAA’s ongoing recruiting dead period is making that difficult. The dead period is currently set to expire in April, though it has been extended multiple times due to COVID-19 concerns. If it is lifted in the spring, Sallis could make some visits before coming to a college decision. If it’s not, he could still travel to those campuses at his own expense, though both UK and UNC would be long trips, and he wouldn’t be allowed to meet with coaches or see the basketball facilities while in town.
“No matter how much you like a school, if you can’t meet with people one on one, it makes it really tough to pull the trigger,” Bossi said. “And I don’t think he would like to make a decision without the opportunity to meet these other coaches in person.”
Sallis is apparently in no rush.
“I think he’ll hold out,” Bossi said. “He certainly doesn’t seem to be too fazed by it. In my conversations with his parents, they don’t seem to be too overwhelmed by it or anything like that. So I don’t think anyone’s in a position where they feel like, ‘Oh man, we have to get this over because it’s just too much.’”
Efton Reid’s recruitment
A little further down the rankings — coming in at No. 26 overall, two spots lower than on the previous list — is Efton Reid, a 6-11 center from Virginia now playing his final high school season at IMG Academy in Florida.
There’s been no confirmation of a Kentucky scholarship offer for Reid, but the Herald-Leader did confirm a few weeks ago that the Wildcats have remained in regular contact with the skilled, versatile big man over the course of 2020.
His recruitment has been tough to figure out. Reid doesn’t seek the media spotlight, and there’s never been a ton of public buzz over his college leanings. Bossi said that with Reid now at IMG and with little to no opportunity to catch up with him in person, concrete recruiting information has been difficult to come by.
“Absent a Kentucky offer, I think Ohio State and Pitt are two schools that often come up as being in pretty good shape,” he said. “But I don’t think there’s anyone who has too much confidence.”
And even if Kentucky did come through with a scholarship offer, there’s no guarantee the Cats would jump to the top of Reid’s list. Bossi said he seemed to be in no rush to make a decision, though Reid is expected to announce a new list of schools in the near future.
This story was originally published December 4, 2020 at 11:56 AM.
