The AAU season has come to a close and Kentucky has keyed in on its top recruiting targets in the class of 2018, but not all of those targets can claim an offer from the Cats at this point.
That may change in the near future.
Jon Lopez/Nike @NikeEYB
Shittu: All eyes are on Simisola Shittu as John Calipari made a visit to the five-star forward this weekend. I'm surprised that Calipari left that meeting without giving Shittu an offer because an offer is on its way. Thinking back there has been a few times that Calipari has met with a prospect and didn't offer, but offered via phone about a week later. I'm guessing he does something similar with Shittu.
Shittu will, and already has, become one of UK's top big targets in 2018. I have confirmation that Kentucky won't give up on Bagley, but the writing is on the wall. The Cats obviously like Bol Bol and would love to land him, but USC has all the momentum. Bol will still visit UK so maybe things can change.
However, Kentucky is scrambling a bit for bigs in 2018. There are several options, talented options, but only a few that can make the freshman impact that Calipari likes to see out of his recruits. Like I said last week, don't be surprised if UK returns a few frontcourt players of this current team for the 2018-2019 season, but Shittu is a guy the Cats will try to land.
Canada: I know everyone is wondering if Cal met with R.J. Barrett while in Canada. Obviously it would make sense but it didn't happen. They will have plenty of time to continue to build that relationship but it didn't take a step forward this weekend. But let's play a hypothetical and say that UK were to land Shittu, I do think it would help with Barrett.
Barrett has already talked about how impressed he was with Murray at UK and he told me he talks with Shai Alexander almost daily. I know some may think that just because UK has landed a few Canadians that doesn't mean all Canadians would like Calipari and UK, after all it's a big country, but it helps.
The top Canadians will be in contact with a lot of the major players for Canadian basketball. Some have similar trainers. All of them have played some level of Canadian National Basketball. The point is they rub elbows with some of the same people. And when you have a lot of those people raving about Calipari it definitely helps.
Barrett's recruitment will come down to Oregon, UK and Duke in my opinion and a big factor may be where other top dogs end up in 2018.
Bob Blanchard, Basketball Hall of Fame
Other Bigs: I mentioned the "big" dilemma earlier and I would expect another big or two to receive an offer from Kentucky. My first guess would be Emmitt Williams. Yes, the kid who spoke so highly of Coach K. Remember, Wenyen Gabriel was a huge Duke and Coach K fan at one point, too.
Williams will take all five of his official visits and assuming the Cats stay in contact, which I think they will, he will check out Lexington. I doubt Williams ever becomes a top priority for UK, but if Kentucky were to miss on Shittu and Bol then the Cats would have to move on down the list. I like Williams' game but not sure if he's a one-and-done player.
Jon Lopez/Nike @NikeEYB
King: Kentucky target Louis King has said all the right things. He has expressed how much he likes Calipari, how much he likes UK and how he could be UK's first 2018 commitment if he were to land an offer.
I also said a few weeks ago that if the Cats didn't offer King soon, he would move on with his recruitment.
So what's going to happen? Kentucky isn't going to offer King. At least not until the spring but I would be surprised if UK ever offered King. He's really good and there's a lot to like about him as a player and a kid, but the Cats don't want to muddy things up in 2018. What if King landed an offer and then Williamson and Quickley committed? It would be incredibly tough to land Reddish or Barrett.
So, no offer for King. It's just part of the business.
HoyaReport.com
Williamson & Quickley: Nothing new from these two. Quickley is playing the best basketball of his career and I've always thought that there weren't any true "elite" guards but Quickley is getting close.
I'd expect both to make final decisions in September, October or November at the latest. They both will sign in the fall and UK is the leader.
Courtesy Les Schwab Invitational
Bagley: Still plenty of drama surrounding Marvin Bagley. His family has filed paperwork for reclassifying but the majority of people believe that will be too hard to accomplish. Kentucky isn't giving up recruiting Bagley but if he moves to 2017 the Cats won't have a chance. If he stays in 2018 that would be good news for Kentucky but the Cats are clearly behind.
My guess is he ends up at USC regardless of the class.
That may change in the near future.
Jon Lopez/Nike @NikeEYB
Shittu: All eyes are on Simisola Shittu as John Calipari made a visit to the five-star forward this weekend. I'm surprised that Calipari left that meeting without giving Shittu an offer because an offer is on its way. Thinking back there has been a few times that Calipari has met with a prospect and didn't offer, but offered via phone about a week later. I'm guessing he does something similar with Shittu.
Shittu will, and already has, become one of UK's top big targets in 2018. I have confirmation that Kentucky won't give up on Bagley, but the writing is on the wall. The Cats obviously like Bol Bol and would love to land him, but USC has all the momentum. Bol will still visit UK so maybe things can change.
However, Kentucky is scrambling a bit for bigs in 2018. There are several options, talented options, but only a few that can make the freshman impact that Calipari likes to see out of his recruits. Like I said last week, don't be surprised if UK returns a few frontcourt players of this current team for the 2018-2019 season, but Shittu is a guy the Cats will try to land.
Canada: I know everyone is wondering if Cal met with R.J. Barrett while in Canada. Obviously it would make sense but it didn't happen. They will have plenty of time to continue to build that relationship but it didn't take a step forward this weekend. But let's play a hypothetical and say that UK were to land Shittu, I do think it would help with Barrett.
Barrett has already talked about how impressed he was with Murray at UK and he told me he talks with Shai Alexander almost daily. I know some may think that just because UK has landed a few Canadians that doesn't mean all Canadians would like Calipari and UK, after all it's a big country, but it helps.
The top Canadians will be in contact with a lot of the major players for Canadian basketball. Some have similar trainers. All of them have played some level of Canadian National Basketball. The point is they rub elbows with some of the same people. And when you have a lot of those people raving about Calipari it definitely helps.
Barrett's recruitment will come down to Oregon, UK and Duke in my opinion and a big factor may be where other top dogs end up in 2018.
Bob Blanchard, Basketball Hall of Fame
Other Bigs: I mentioned the "big" dilemma earlier and I would expect another big or two to receive an offer from Kentucky. My first guess would be Emmitt Williams. Yes, the kid who spoke so highly of Coach K. Remember, Wenyen Gabriel was a huge Duke and Coach K fan at one point, too.
Williams will take all five of his official visits and assuming the Cats stay in contact, which I think they will, he will check out Lexington. I doubt Williams ever becomes a top priority for UK, but if Kentucky were to miss on Shittu and Bol then the Cats would have to move on down the list. I like Williams' game but not sure if he's a one-and-done player.
Jon Lopez/Nike @NikeEYB
King: Kentucky target Louis King has said all the right things. He has expressed how much he likes Calipari, how much he likes UK and how he could be UK's first 2018 commitment if he were to land an offer.
I also said a few weeks ago that if the Cats didn't offer King soon, he would move on with his recruitment.
So what's going to happen? Kentucky isn't going to offer King. At least not until the spring but I would be surprised if UK ever offered King. He's really good and there's a lot to like about him as a player and a kid, but the Cats don't want to muddy things up in 2018. What if King landed an offer and then Williamson and Quickley committed? It would be incredibly tough to land Reddish or Barrett.
So, no offer for King. It's just part of the business.
HoyaReport.com
Williamson & Quickley: Nothing new from these two. Quickley is playing the best basketball of his career and I've always thought that there weren't any true "elite" guards but Quickley is getting close.
I'd expect both to make final decisions in September, October or November at the latest. They both will sign in the fall and UK is the leader.
Courtesy Les Schwab Invitational
Bagley: Still plenty of drama surrounding Marvin Bagley. His family has filed paperwork for reclassifying but the majority of people believe that will be too hard to accomplish. Kentucky isn't giving up recruiting Bagley but if he moves to 2017 the Cats won't have a chance. If he stays in 2018 that would be good news for Kentucky but the Cats are clearly behind.
My guess is he ends up at USC regardless of the class.
