Early favorite already emerging for top-10 basketball recruit on Kentucky’s radar
There’s already a consensus forming around the recruitment of Dariq Whitehead, one of the top 10 basketball prospects in the class of 2022 and an early Kentucky target from that group.
Though the 6-foot-5 wing from Newark, N.J., has often mentioned UK as one of the schools that has had the most recruiting contact with him to this point, the Wildcats aren’t considered the favorites.
That designation, as of now, goes to Florida State, which continues to pick up high-profile predictions on the national recruiting sites. Dushawn London, who covers recruiting nationally for 247Sports, became the latest to log a pro-Seminoles pick on Whitehead’s Crystal Ball page last week, joining Rivals.com analyst Jamie Shaw, who also predicted Florida State last week, and 247Sports national analysts Eric Bossi and Travis Branham, who made their picks a few weeks ago.
Whitehead is in his junior season at Montverde (Fla.) Academy and holds the position of the No. 9 overall player in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
“He’s a very tough and strong, athletic slasher,” Branham told the Herald-Leader. “His jump shot has definitely improved, but it’s still an area he can continue improving. He’s at his best when he’s getting downhill and attacking the rim. He’s a great defender when he’s locked in and engaged, given his size and strength and athleticism.
“He’s great in transition. He can be one heck of a defender, slasher and rebounder as he continues to figure out his game and lock in on those areas.”
Whitehead told 247Sports just a few weeks ago that Florida State, Kentucky, Memphis, Louisiana State and Georgia have been among the schools reaching out to him the most. (His older brother, Tahir Whitehead, is a nine-year veteran in the NFL and currently plays for the Carolina Panthers. He played his college ball at Temple).
It’s important to note that — even with this relative flurry of early picks on his Crystal Ball page — Whitehead hasn’t been able to fully engage in his recruiting process due to the NCAA’s ongoing “dead period” prohibiting college coaches from seeing players in person or hosting them for campus visits. The dead period is currently scheduled to expire at the end of May, and Whitehead doesn’t seem to be in any great hurry to make his college decision, so upcoming visits could go a long way in shaping his recruitment as he enters his senior year of high school.
Still, Florida State seems to be sitting in a good spot at this stage in his process, and it probably doesn’t hurt that one of Whitehead’s former teammates — Scottie Barnes — is projected to be a lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft after finishing out his freshman season with the Seminoles. (FSU also has the No. 2 recruiting class nationally for the 2021 cycle).
So far, there are only three uncommitted players in the 2022 class with confirmed scholarship offers from Kentucky: point guard Jaden Bradley, center Jalen Duren and shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe.
The Wildcats are actively recruiting several other prospects in that class, including Whitehead, and additional offers should be coming soon, especially with AAU play set to begin next month.
