North Carolina has emerged in recent days as the favorite in the recruitment of Josh Green, a five-star prospect in the class of 2019 that has been tied to Kentucky this summer.
Green — a 6-foot-5 guard from Australia — is entering his senior season at IMG Academy in Florida and was one of the top stars on the Under Armour circuit this summer. He’s ranked as high as No. 8 nationally (by ESPN), and is the No. 11 overall player in the 247Sports composite rankings for the class of 2019.
Lewis
Highly touted guard Kira Lewis released his updated recruiting list Tuesday, and Kentucky is not one of the 12 schools still in contention.
Lewis — a 6-2 prospect from Hazel Green, Ala. — visited Lexington in June and was watched several times by the Wildcats’ coaching staff this spring and summer, but UK never extended a scholarship offer and appears to be focused on other guards in the 2019 class.
His new list of 12 schools includes Alabama, Auburn, Baylor, Georgia, Houston, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Louisiana State, Mississippi, Providence and Texas Christian. Lewis has also mentioned the possibility of reclassifying to 2018, though a decision on that is not yet final.
Bacot
Five-star post player Armando Bacot announced his final five schools Saturday afternoon, but Kentucky did not make the list.
Bacot — a 6-foot-10 prospect from Richmond, Va. — is down to Duke, Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and hometown school Virginia Commonwealth. UNC holds 100 percent of the predictions on his Crystal Ball page.
UK’s recruiting contact with Bacot had been sporadic over the past year, though he did tell Rivals.com earlier in the week that he had been in touch with Wildcats assistant coach Joel Justus recently. UK, however, never extended a scholarship offer.
Wiseman
The Memphis momentum continues on the 247Sports Crystal Ball page of James Wiseman, the No. 1 recruiting target on Kentucky’s board for the class of 2019.
247Sports reporter Billy Embody is the latest to log a pick in favor of the Tigers, making it 12 straight Memphis predictions on Wiseman’s page, including picks from national recruiting experts Jerry Meyer and Andrew Slater.
Whitney
Five-star wing Kahlil Whitney has had a UK scholarship offer for less than a week, but the momentum continues to quickly build in the Wildcats’ favor.
National recruiting analysts Andrew Slater and Jerry Meyer both logged Crystal Ball predictions in favor of the Cats on Whitney’s 247Sports page Monday, and Evan Daniels logged a UK pick Tuesday, joining national analyst Brian Snow, who recorded a UK prediction for Whitney shortly after he picked up the Kentucky offer Friday.
Whitney — a 6-foot-6 wing from Chicago — averaged 21.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game on the Nike circuit during the spring, shooting 38 percent from three-point range. He is expected to visit UK sometime soon.
Whitney
Five-star basketball recruit Kahlil Whitney says he has received a scholarship offer from Kentucky.
Whitney — a 6-foot-6 wing player in the class of 2019 — told Scott Burgess of Prep Hoops on Friday that he has picked up the UK offer. “It was great. Coach Cal reached out to me after one of my games at the Peach Jam Invitational and talked to me. He wants to get me on campus soon. So, yeah, it was cool.”
Calipari also watched Whitney play at an event in Wisconsin on Friday night. The Chicago native now plays his high school ball in New Jersey and is the No. 14 overall prospect in the class of 2019, according to the 247Sports rankings. He expects to cut his list to eight school sometime soon, and he wants to make an early decision and sign with the school of his choice in November.
Lewis
247Sports national analyst Evan Daniels has joined other recruiting experts in predicting that Alabama will land home-state star Kira Lewis, who has been on UK’s radar for a possible scholarship offer.
Lewis — a 6-foot-2 guard from Hazel Green, Ala. — was one of the top players on the Nike circuit this spring and vaulted to the No. 24 overall spot in the 247Sports rankings for the 2019 class, making him a five-star recruit. UK has shown interest in his recruitment — even hosting him on an unofficial visit to Lexington last month — but the Cats have not yet come through with a scholarship offer.
Brooks
247Sports national analyst Jerry Meyer has logged a new prediction in favor of Indiana for Keion Brooks, one of UK’s top basketball targets in the class of 2019.
Brooks — a 6-foot-7 small forward from Fort Wayne, Ind. — is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2019 class, and he was one of the first players from that group to land a scholarship offer from Kentucky.
UK commitment Tyrese Maxey told the Herald-Leader last month that Brooks has been the No. 1 priority on his personal recruiting list. The two rising seniors have known each other since grade school and both play on the Nike circuit.
Antoine
Five-star shooting guard Bryan Antoine has scheduled four official visits, according to a report Thursday morning from Adam Zagoria.
Antoine — a 6-foot-5 prospect from New Jersey — will visit Kentucky on Sept. 22. He also has scheduled trips for Florida (Sept. 15), Duke (Sept. 29) and Villanova (Nov. 3). Kansas was also on his list of five finalists.
Duke is the major favorite on Antoine’s 247Sports Crystal Ball page, and he told the Herald-Leader earlier this month that he will definitely be making a college decision in time to sign with the school of his choice in November.
Igiehon
Ireland native Aidan Igiehon has been one of the fastest-rising basketball recruits in the class of 2019 this spring, and Louisville could now be well-positioned for his commitment.
Igiehon — a 6-foot-10 power forward now living in New York — is scheduled to visit U of L on Thursday, and 247Sports national recruiting analysts Evan Daniels and Josh Gershon both logged picks in favor of the Cardinals on Igiehon’s Crystal Ball page Wednesday. Daniels is a perfect 18-for-18 with his Crystal Ball picks so far in the 2019 recruiting cycle.
Earlier in the week, national recruiting analysts Andrew Slater and Jerry Meyer logged predictions in favor of St. John’s for Igiehon, who plays on the Under Armour circuit and is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 14 overall prospect in the 2019 class.
