Tyrese Maxey
David Sisk • CatsIllustrated.com
The day thatKentucky Wildcat fans have been looking to for the last few weeks is upon us.
Five-star guard,
Tyrese Maxey
. will make his commitment public on Wednesday, May 9, at 4:00 P.M. CST.
Not only will Maxey be deciding between five finalists: Kentucky, Michigan State. Michigan, Texas, and Oklahoma State, he will also should be answering the question of whether he will stay in the Class of 2019, or move up a year, and be immediately eligible to play next season.
Kentucky has been considered by many to be the favorite for his services. The bigger question, though, may be which class does he decide to graduate with?
The junior told us in Indianapolis two weekends ago, that his grades and transcripts should be in order to reclassify if he wants to. Many analysts who follow recruiting originally thought that was indeed might happen, but in the past few days, the belief has shifted somewhat back to 2018.
We decided to poll some of Rivals' insiders in regards to what they think the two decisions will be. We spoke with our National Recruiting Analysts, Corey Evans and Eric Bossi, Blue Zertucheof TexasHoops.com, and writers for four of the five school sites on the Rivals Network that have been named finalists.
Stats/Accolades: The five-star was named First-Team All Texas by USA Today. He averaged 22.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. He helped get South Garland to the state-semifinal game, where he scored 46 points, before coming up just short.
He was also named the SportsDay High School Player of the Year. This is the high school sports publication for the Dallas Morning News.
Maxey will be attending the USA Men's 18U National Team Training Camp this summer.
Predictions:
Rivals National Analyst Corey Evans: "Maxey is a do it all guard that most any college program would love to get its hands on. I expect for the five-star guard to select Kentucky on Wednesday, and while there are rumors that he could and will reclassify into the 2018 class, I believe that, for the time being, he will remain in the original 2019 class. Not that he could not ultimately reclassify, but at the time being, I see Maxey sticking it out as a member of the junior class and pledge to the Wildcats."
Rivals National Analyst Eric Bossi: "Based on everything that I've heard over the past months or so, it seems to be pretty likely that Tyrese Maxey will pick Kentucky. A physical scorer who can play either the point or shooting guard spots, Maxey has always liked Kentucky. and behind the scenes buzz has picked that up for some time now.
So if Maxey does indeed pick Kentucky, the question on Wildcats' fans minds is whether or not he will remain in the class of 2019 or enroll early as a member of the 2018 class. A few weeks ago, it looked pretty certain that Maxey would move up a class, but as of the last few days, it seems to be pretty much up in the air. So I'm thinking he will end up staying in his natural class. 2018 or 2019, he should be a great pickup."
Cats Illustrated's David Sisk: "Kentucky has been considered the leader for at least a couple of weeks, and there hasn't been any buzz in regards of another school making a late run to think anything else. Much like Romeo Langford and Indiana, all of the signs point to Maxey going to Lexington.
The big questions seems to be which classification he chooses. He is originally in the 2019 group, and it appeared that up till around five days ago, the odds were he would reclassify to 2018. In fact, my public opinion as of late last week was that he would come out early. Since then, the buzz has been that he will stay 2019. Although, reclassification may still be up in the air, it appears the safe bet for now is Maxey to Kentucky with a strong lean to coming out in 2019."
Orangebloods.com's Dustin McComas: "I think the timing of the announcement is a good thing for Kentucky. While the Longhorns are probably running in a solid second place and made up some ground during an in-home visit. I don't believe they made up enough ground to catch up with Kentucky. The Wildcats have had a good grip on the recruitment for a while, and although Texas's pitch to remain close to him and rep his state has resonated with him, John Calipari's history of guards making a quick jump to the NBA is a big factor.
As for reclassification, a few weeks ago I would have said without any hesitation that Maxey would make a move into the 2018 class. Now I'm not so sure. Although the timing of a commitment suggests a move into 2018, I think there's a realistic chance he stays put in 2019."
The Wolverine's Chris Balas: "This one seems to have Kentucky written all over it. Michigan seems to have come on strong lately, but John Beilein didn't offer Maxey on his first visit because he wanted to make sure Maxey was serious about the Wolverines. Maxey is serious enough to include them in his top five, but it would be a huge upset if he picked them....or anyone else but Kentucky, and I also think he goes 2018."
O-State Illustrated's Jeff Johnson: "Like many others, I believe Kentucky will be Maxey's destination. Howerver, I do give both Oklahoma State and Texas a puncher's chance due to proximity. And Mike Boynton is proving to be an outstanding recruiter. As for reclassification, I think he will stay in the 2019 class."
