Recruiting analysts say Kentucky is the favorite for star point guard Jaden Bradley
It didn’t take long for recruiting analysts to make Kentucky the favorite for five-star point guard Jaden Bradley.
One day after Bradley received a scholarship offer from the Wildcats, a pair of 247Sports analysts — Travis Branham and Jerry Meyer — logged predictions in favor of UK on Bradley’s Crystal Ball page. Those are the first two Crystal Ball picks for Bradley, who earned his Kentucky offer Sunday and is seen as one of the top point guards in the 2022 class.
Bradley — a 6-foot-3 prospect from Rochester, N.Y. — moved to the Charlotte area in middle school and is now in his first season at prep powerhouse IMG Academy (Fla.). As a sophomore, he averaged 23 points, seven assists and seven rebounds per game and led his North Carolina high school to a state title, earning state player of the year honors and being named a first-team national all-sophomore by MaxPreps.com.
There was some social media speculation Monday night that Bradley might be close to making a college decision immediately following the UK scholarship offer, but his father said that information was not correct. Nathan Bradley, the player’s father, told the Herald-Leader on Sunday night that Bradley would likely sit down at the end of this high school season and take a closer look at his recruitment and a possible commitment.
Kentucky already has a commitment from five-star point guard Skyy Clark for the class of 2022, but Bradley’s father said the two families have known each other for a while now and that his son and Clark had discussed playing together in college even before either prospect earned a UK scholarship offer.
“We’ve known those guys for a long time,” he told the Herald-Leader on Sunday night. “Even prior to getting an offer — and before he got an ever — those kids have talked about playing together. If you watch what they do, they usually have multiple point guards on the floor. I think both of those kids can play off the ball. I think that they both have similar strengths. There’s no qualms at all. We’re excited about that opportunity.”
Clark and Bradley have also both been mentioned as possible reclassification candidates, and the fathers of both players have told the Herald-Leader recently that they’re not shutting the door on a move to 2021, though no decision from either recruit is expected anytime soon. Clark doesn’t turn 18 years old until July, and Bradley turns 18 in September, so both would be young for the 2021 class if they did decide to jump to college a year early.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 11:35 AM.
