One of Kentucky’s basketball signees is among biggest risers in new national rankings
Future Kentucky point guard Nolan Hickman was one of the biggest movers in the latest Rivals.com recruiting rankings for the 2021 class, a list that was updated Monday.
Hickman — a 6-foot-3 playmaker from Seattle — jumped from No. 52 to No. 39 in the new 2021 rankings. Among recruits in the top 50, only two other prospects — Creighton commitment TyTy Washington and Marquette commitment Jonas Aidoo — were bigger risers on the new list.
Recruiting analysts have liked what they’ve seen this fall and winter from Hickman, who is playing his final high school season for Wasatch Academy (Utah) and was UK’s first commitment for the 2021 class.
Texas power forward Daimion Collins remains UK’s top-ranked signee for next season, staying put at No. 10 in the overall rankings. Chicago-area forward Bryce Hopkins — the Cats’ third early signee for the 2021 class — rose two spots from No. 30 to No. 28 overall.
Minnesota 7-footer Chet Holmgren moved into the No. 1 spot in the Rivals.com rankings, replacing Patrick Baldwin Jr., who suffered a season-ending injury early in his senior year and dropped from No. 1 to No. 4 on the list. UK has extended a scholarship offer to Baldwin, but he’s widely expected to pick either Duke or Milwaukee, where his father is the head coach. Kentucky has not recruited Holmgren, who narrowed his list to Georgetown, Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Ohio State, with Gonzaga emerging as a possible favorite in recent weeks.
Top UK target Jaden Hardy — a 6-4 combo guard — jumped from No. 5 to No. 2 overall. A jump to the G League seems to be the most likely option for Hardy, who is also considering Kentucky, UCLA and other major schools. Former UK target Paolo Banchero — now a Duke signee — fell one spot to No. 3 overall, and Auburn signee Jabari Smith dropped one spot to No. 5 overall.
UK point guard target Hunter Sallis dropped a spot to No. 7 overall, while another Kentucky target — five-star center Efton Reid — rose three spots to No. 24 overall, though UK’s pursuit of Reid might be affected by Sunday’s commitment from star center Oscar Tshiebwe.
The only other player the Wildcats have been linked to in the 2021 class is Wisconsin shooting guard Brandin Podziemski, who is still not ranked among the top 150 players in the country, according to Rivals.com. 247Sports recently moved Podziemski to No. 75 in its rankings.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 1:23 PM.
