The fall signing period is just about two months away and while the Cats don't currently have any 2018 commitments, that will change in the next two months.
Kentucky hosted two five-star visitors, Immanuel Quickley and Keldon Johnson. UK is perceived to be the leader for both players. Are the Cats closing in on a commitment?
Courtesy of Adidas
Quickley: I waited a bit to type this because I'm still waiting to hear from people close to Quickley, but everything on UK's end seemed to go perfectly smooth. I haven't been told that there has been a silent commitment or anything like that, but I'm told that Kentucky is expecting Quickley to be a part of the Cats' class in 2018.
One of the questions I was told was discussed was how Quickley could play with Quade Green and Shai Alexander if those two came back for sophomore seasons. There is a theory that both guards won't come back for UK, but the Cats pointed towards 2015, 2016 and 2017 where the Cats played with three guards for large chunks of the season.
Also, just my opinion, but we saw Quickley play off the ball for Team USA this summer and actually did pretty well. Again, I wish I could touch base with Quickley's people beforehand but UK is riding as high as ever with the Quickley recruitment.
Matthew Hatfield (VirginiaPreps.com)
Johnson: Keldon Johnson visited UK for the second time in a month and I'm told things went well. Shocker. What I will be interested in looking into Johnson's timeline. He initially was planning on announcing in the spring. Then he unofficially visited UK last month and he wanted to commit in the fall. Then he went back to the spring because he wanted to see who was staying and going at UK. Is he still planning on the spring or has he seen enough? Is he worried about which players may be returning to UK, or does he want to lock up his spot now that the Cats have some momentum for Quentin Grimes?
On UK's side of the things the Cats feel like they're in a good spot when it comes to guards for the future. Quickley seems likely to end up in Lexington. Maybe both Green and Alexander come back. UK seems to be in a decent spot for Grimes and R.J. Barrett.
If Johnson wanted to pop, the Cats would be happy. If he wants to wait then UK will be happy waiting but would gladly accept a commitment from Grimes. It may be first come first serve for the guards in 2018.
UPDATE- I'm told that Johnson is undecided regarding his timeline.
FIBA
Barrett: Barrett visited Duke this weekend and I haven't heard specifics about the visit but I do know that the Blue Devils were incredibly confident with where they stood with Barrett heading into the weekend. My guess is that things didn't change after the official visit.
It's always interesting when both UK and Duke feel confident for the same recruit. Duke won Bolden and the Cats won Kevin Knox. I've always been told not to sleep on Oregon for Barrett, but it seems like Duke's coaches feel they may be the team to beat.
Barrett will go visit Arizona this week, then Oregon and then finish official visits at Michigan on 10/1.
While there is plenty of mystery surrounding his recruitment the good news is we likely won't have to wait long. He is planning on signing in the fall and I could see him committing sometime in October.
Zion Week: Zion Williamson will officially visit Kentucky this week. The Cats are 3-0 in football. Hosting Florida while trying to end a 30-year streak. John Wall will be in town because he's being inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. Weather looks good at this point.
Could it setup for a more exciting weekend for Williamson? He will likely see Big Blue Nation at its best, and I'm told that UK has some other tricks up its sleeve regarding the Wall Hall of Fame induction that will get Williamson's attention.
There's no denying there's been a positive Duke buzz for Williamson, so the Cats are excited to get a few days of alone time with Williamson. I still think it comes down to UK and Kansas, but some Duke folks think the Blue Devils have a chance.
2019: UK has offered now four players in the class of 2019
James Wiseman
Bryan Antoine
D.J. Jeffries
Scottie Lewis
I would expect a few more offers to go out (Vernon Carey, Cole Anthony, Matthew Hurt, Ashton Hagans just to name a few).
I had a conversation a little over a week ago where this may become the norm for Calipari. He won't be stingy with offers and unless you're a stud he may start sending them out during the open period in the fall. So, 2020 guys will likely get offers this time next year.
As always, I think Calipari's 2019 class could once again be No. 1. This class is more balanced position wise than other classes. Great guards at the top. Solid bigs. Probably a little deeper with guards, but all around it's a good class.
Nike/Jon Lopez @NikeEYB
Loose Ends: I haven't confirmed UK met with Bol last night like scheduled. Calipari is going to Fort Wayne today, so I'm not sure if he made the trip out west or not, but I haven't heard anything about it so I'm leaning towards it didn't take place. I'll update when I hear something. But Bol is still planning on visiting for Big Blue Madness and I do think it's somewhat telling UK hasn't offered any other bigs in the class, although I'd expect Shittu to receive an offer at some point.
Kentucky hosted two five-star visitors, Immanuel Quickley and Keldon Johnson. UK is perceived to be the leader for both players. Are the Cats closing in on a commitment?
Courtesy of Adidas
Quickley: I waited a bit to type this because I'm still waiting to hear from people close to Quickley, but everything on UK's end seemed to go perfectly smooth. I haven't been told that there has been a silent commitment or anything like that, but I'm told that Kentucky is expecting Quickley to be a part of the Cats' class in 2018.
One of the questions I was told was discussed was how Quickley could play with Quade Green and Shai Alexander if those two came back for sophomore seasons. There is a theory that both guards won't come back for UK, but the Cats pointed towards 2015, 2016 and 2017 where the Cats played with three guards for large chunks of the season.
Also, just my opinion, but we saw Quickley play off the ball for Team USA this summer and actually did pretty well. Again, I wish I could touch base with Quickley's people beforehand but UK is riding as high as ever with the Quickley recruitment.
Matthew Hatfield (VirginiaPreps.com)
Johnson: Keldon Johnson visited UK for the second time in a month and I'm told things went well. Shocker. What I will be interested in looking into Johnson's timeline. He initially was planning on announcing in the spring. Then he unofficially visited UK last month and he wanted to commit in the fall. Then he went back to the spring because he wanted to see who was staying and going at UK. Is he still planning on the spring or has he seen enough? Is he worried about which players may be returning to UK, or does he want to lock up his spot now that the Cats have some momentum for Quentin Grimes?
On UK's side of the things the Cats feel like they're in a good spot when it comes to guards for the future. Quickley seems likely to end up in Lexington. Maybe both Green and Alexander come back. UK seems to be in a decent spot for Grimes and R.J. Barrett.
If Johnson wanted to pop, the Cats would be happy. If he wants to wait then UK will be happy waiting but would gladly accept a commitment from Grimes. It may be first come first serve for the guards in 2018.
UPDATE- I'm told that Johnson is undecided regarding his timeline.
FIBA
Barrett: Barrett visited Duke this weekend and I haven't heard specifics about the visit but I do know that the Blue Devils were incredibly confident with where they stood with Barrett heading into the weekend. My guess is that things didn't change after the official visit.
It's always interesting when both UK and Duke feel confident for the same recruit. Duke won Bolden and the Cats won Kevin Knox. I've always been told not to sleep on Oregon for Barrett, but it seems like Duke's coaches feel they may be the team to beat.
Barrett will go visit Arizona this week, then Oregon and then finish official visits at Michigan on 10/1.
While there is plenty of mystery surrounding his recruitment the good news is we likely won't have to wait long. He is planning on signing in the fall and I could see him committing sometime in October.
Zion Week: Zion Williamson will officially visit Kentucky this week. The Cats are 3-0 in football. Hosting Florida while trying to end a 30-year streak. John Wall will be in town because he's being inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame. Weather looks good at this point.
Could it setup for a more exciting weekend for Williamson? He will likely see Big Blue Nation at its best, and I'm told that UK has some other tricks up its sleeve regarding the Wall Hall of Fame induction that will get Williamson's attention.
There's no denying there's been a positive Duke buzz for Williamson, so the Cats are excited to get a few days of alone time with Williamson. I still think it comes down to UK and Kansas, but some Duke folks think the Blue Devils have a chance.
2019: UK has offered now four players in the class of 2019
James Wiseman
Bryan Antoine
D.J. Jeffries
Scottie Lewis
I would expect a few more offers to go out (Vernon Carey, Cole Anthony, Matthew Hurt, Ashton Hagans just to name a few).
I had a conversation a little over a week ago where this may become the norm for Calipari. He won't be stingy with offers and unless you're a stud he may start sending them out during the open period in the fall. So, 2020 guys will likely get offers this time next year.
As always, I think Calipari's 2019 class could once again be No. 1. This class is more balanced position wise than other classes. Great guards at the top. Solid bigs. Probably a little deeper with guards, but all around it's a good class.
Nike/Jon Lopez @NikeEYB
Loose Ends: I haven't confirmed UK met with Bol last night like scheduled. Calipari is going to Fort Wayne today, so I'm not sure if he made the trip out west or not, but I haven't heard anything about it so I'm leaning towards it didn't take place. I'll update when I hear something. But Bol is still planning on visiting for Big Blue Madness and I do think it's somewhat telling UK hasn't offered any other bigs in the class, although I'd expect Shittu to receive an offer at some point.
