First major prediction is in for one of basketball’s quietest five-star recruitments
The recruitment of Efton Reid has been remarkably quiet for one involving a five-star prospect.
Reid — a 7-footer from Virginia, playing his final season of high school ball for the IMG Academy (Fla.) post-grad team — hasn’t even disclosed a list of finalists, and there hasn’t been much credible talk at all around a possible favorite for his commitment.
Kentucky has been involved with his recruitment dating back well over a year. UK was seen as a possible landing spot if Reid decided to reclassify from 2021 to 2020 and play college basketball this season. He didn’t, opting instead to go to IMG for an extra year.
Since then, things have remained quiet. Perhaps that’s changing.
Jamie Shaw, who has been covering national recruiting topics for Rivals.com in recent months, logged the first prediction from an analyst in Reid’s recruitment Tuesday — a pick in favor of Pittsburgh on the player’s Rivals FutureCast page. There are still zero predictions on Reid’s 247Sports Crystal Ball page.
Pitt would not be a surprise, if Reid does indeed end up there. The Panthers have long been in the mix, and they tend to pop up in any discussions involving Reid’s recruitment. Ohio State and Virginia are a couple of others that have been mentioned in the past, and the straight-to-the-pros route is seemingly still an option as well, but Reid has been so silent about his recruitment that it’s been tough to get a gauge on what he plans to do.
There has been no chatter at all around Kentucky as a realistic landing spot for Reid in recent months. The Wildcats should have a frontcourt high on quality and quantity next season, with Oscar Tshiebwe, Daimion Collins, Jacob Toppin, Lance Ware and Bryce Hopkins all expected to be at UK, along with the possible return of Keion Brooks.
The Cats have been linked to a few other frontcourt players in the offseason transfer portal, but they can be especially choosy about anyone they add for one of those positions, and it might be more likely that they won’t add anyone else at all, especially until Brooks makes a decision regarding his future.
Reid, who is the No. 23 overall player in the 2021 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings, doesn’t appear to be part of Kentucky’s plan for next season, but those who have been following his recruitment might be closer to an answer on where he’ll end up.
This story was originally published March 31, 2021 at 9:48 AM.
