UK basketball has second-best recruiting class in 2024. A rival will likely take top spot.
The race to finish with the best 2024 recruiting class in men’s college basketball has reached its final stages.
And it appears Kentucky will end up just short of the top spot.
VJ Edgecombe’s commitment to Baylor on Sunday night at the Spalding Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, means that the top of the order of the 247Sports Composite college basketball team recruiting rankings remains unchanged.
Duke occupies the No. 1 spot in the rankings, bolstered by a quartet of five-star newcomers (small forwards Cooper Flagg, Isaiah Evans and Kon Knueppel, and center Patrick Ngongba II) and one four-star future Blue Devil (small forward Darren Harris).
Kentucky is in second place, with a trio of five-stars among its newcomers (center Jayden Quaintance, combo guard Boogie Fland and wing Billy Richmond) and a pair of four-stars (center Somto Cyril and guard Travis Perry) soon to be in Lexington.
Prior to Sunday night, Edgecombe — a 6-foot-5 shooting guard who plays for Long Island Lutheran (New York) — was the top-ranked player in the 2024 recruiting class yet to make a college commitment. The 247Sports Composite ranks Edgecombe as the No. 5 overall player in this year’s class.
A commitment to Duke or Kentucky would have tipped the scales in the annual race to secure the best incoming freshman class in college basketball.
Edgecombe’s choice of Baylor over both Duke and UK won’t vault the Bears into the picture for the best recruiting class in the country: Edgecombe will be Baylor’s only five-star freshman next season, and per the 247Sports Composite the Bears have the fifth-best recruiting class in the nation.
As such, his college decision will keep the status quo atop the recruiting rankings. And there aren’t many opportunities left for UK’s John Calipari to overtake Duke’s Jon Scheyer for that top recruiting spot.
With Edgecombe off the board, only three five-star recruits (per the 247Sports Composite) are yet to commit to or sign with a school.
Small forward Bryson Tucker (No. 19 overall) has a Duke scholarship offer, but the Blue Devils don’t look like the choice for him. Center Derik Queen (No. 15 overall) is selecting between Houston, Indiana, Kansas and Maryland.
This leaves small forward Karter Knox (No. 12 overall), who is the last elite recruit in the 2024 class being pursued by the Wildcats, and therefore the last chance UK has to pass Duke on the team recruiting rankings.
A younger brother of former UK one-and-done star Kevin Knox (the ninth overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft), Karter is down to four post-high school options in his recruitment: Kentucky, Louisville, South Florida and the NBA’s G League Ignite program.
Knox took an official visit to Louisville last month, and he will be in Lexington on an official visit this weekend when UK hosts Georgia at Rupp Arena.
The 247Sports Composite utilizes the recruiting rankings from several national services to form its rankings list. So with rankings updates still to come this spring, there’s a chance certain players are moved up or down, and the team rankings of Duke and Kentucky could switch.
But for now, Edgecombe’s commitment to Baylor has provided clarity as to which team will likely enter the 2024-25 season with what’s viewed as the best group of freshman in men’s college hoops.
And it’s increasingly likely Duke will hold that title.
Duke, Kentucky again at top of recruiting rankings
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that, once again, Duke and Kentucky are the schools battling it out for the best college basketball prospects.
Since 2011, Duke and Kentucky have been mainstays at the top of the annual 247Sports team recruiting rankings.
In this span, UK finished with the top-ranked recruiting class on six occasions (2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020 and 2023).
Duke has topped this list five times (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022) and appears set to claim a sixth time.
Adding another layer of current context to the recruiting battles between these blue-blood schools is the coaching staff crossover between the programs: Duke associate head coach Jai Lucas was formerly on staff at UK and was a key part of the Wildcats’ recruiting efforts.
Interestingly enough, both schools have also compiled similar NCAA Tournament histories in recent years.
Since 2012, UK has amassed one national championship, two national championship game appearances, three trips to the Final Four, five trips to the Elite Eight and six trips to the Sweet 16.
Duke has recorded one national championship, two trips to the Final Four, five trips to the Elite Eight and six trips to the Sweet 16.
With that being said, common thought in both Durham and Lexington is that both schools have underachieved over this period.
The vast majority of these on- and off-court contests came between Calipari and legendary former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski: The duo recently shared the airwaves together on Krzyzewski’s podcast.
“Now Coach, you got 25- and 26-year-olds playing now. 27-year-olds playing now,” Calipari said. “And we’re playing with 19-year-olds. It’s different than it was when you were doing it and I was doing it. I did it before you, and then you copied. But when we were doing it — taking young guys and playing …,” Calipari said before Krzyzewski burst into laughter.
“We didn’t copy,” Coach K responded. “We recruited the same guys, except that the NBA took them, like they were taking your guys. So, we were the only two that did that. Then they said, ‘Kentucky and Duke — they’re the only one-and-done teams.’ Now, everyone’s one-and-done, right? With the transfer portal.”
For the record, Duke didn’t start bringing in probable one-and-done prospects in large numbers until the 2014-15 season, after Calipari had leaned heavily into the strategy.
Now, the 64-year-old Calipari is recruiting and coaching against the 36-year-old Scheyer, who in his second season at Duke and recently agreed to a six-year contract extension that will take him through the 2028-29 season at Duke.
Calipari’s contract at UK also extends through the 2028-29 season, although whether he will see that deal through to its end is a frequent talking point.
“I’m going to recruit the best freshman player that I can get,” Calipari said at UK’s preseason media day. “We are going to help them do what we are supposed to do to prepare them to create habits, prepare them for the rest of their lives. We are going to bring them together, care about them, if we have to bring in some veteran guys, we’ve done it before.”
Herald-Leader Staff Writer Ben Roberts contributed to this article.
This story was originally published January 15, 2024 at 7:53 AM.
