More buzz indicating a top Kentucky basketball target will skip college for the pros
Add another prediction in favor of the professional route for Jaden Hardy, a major Kentucky basketball target and the No. 1 backcourt recruit in the class of 2021.
247Sports analyst Travis Branham logged a Crystal Ball pick siding with the pros on Hardy’s page Tuesday morning. Fellow 247Sports national analysts Eric Bossi and Jerry Meyer had already put in Crystal Ball picks saying Hardy would go pro instead of attending college.
Branham has been correct on 55 of his 56 Crystal Ball predictions in the 2021 cycle.
Hardy — a 6-foot-4 combo guard from the Las Vegas area — is the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2021 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. He was the first guard in the class to earn a UK scholarship offer, but there has been a sense in recruiting circles for months that the professional route might be his most likely destination.
The G League’s developmental program would be his likely path to the 2022 NBA Draft, if he does indeed go pro out of high school.
Hardy averaged 30.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.4 assists per game as a junior — earning Nevada state player of the year honors — and was averaging 34.2 points per game this past season before opting out of the remainder of his senior year due to COVID-19.
If Hardy does decide to play college basketball, UCLA has been seen as Kentucky’s top competition for his commitment, though several other West Coast schools have also been involved.
He recently said that he was targeting the month of April as a time frame for his final decision, and the signs keep pointing to the G League as his most likely landing spot.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 10:45 AM.
