2015 Recruiting: Power Forwards

  The 2015 recruiting class is starting to gain attention with the 2014 class nearly finished outside of possibly one more addition. Specifically, the power forward position is the main talking point at the moment with 6'8" Carlton Bragg receiving a scholarship offer from UK. The offer was reported after Calipari watched Bragg battle Trey Lyles at the McCracken Hoop Festival last weekend. Bragg has been waiting on this offer for quite awhile. He is the 9th overall rated player in the 247 Composite rankings and the 3rd rated power forward. If Bragg were to commit relatively quickly (the next 2-3 months), UK would have phenomenal piece to build around. I fully expect Bragg to commit to the Cats, but there are a few other power forwards that Kentucky is recruiting. The big prize for power forwards in 2015 is Ivan Rabb, a 6'10" forward out of Oakland, California. Rabb has elite athleticism, making him one of the best in the class at getting to the rim and finishing. While he is far from a stretch 4, Rabb still has the ability to take step back 15 footers and other mid range shots if the space is given to him. Rabb is the first choice of any top school recruiting the 5 star forwards in this class. The big problem for UK? He's on the West Coast. Sean Miller has basically laid claim to the best talent on the West Coast, and it is pretty difficult to draw the California kids to Kentucky. Marcus Lee was a special case of course. There is a dark horse outside of Bragg and Rabb as well. Elijah Thomas out of Prime Prep has received some interest from UK, but he appears to be a third option behind the two mentioned above. Thomas is a massive body on the blocks with a great post game and hands for his age. He may be tough to draw away from SMU and Larry Brown since he attends school at Prime Prep which is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Even though Kentucky has a legitimate shot at any of the three targets, I think Carlton Bragg will end up in UK blue, and UK will not have much reason to recruit the other 2 at that point. Bragg has been desiring a Kentucky offer for a long time. If I had my pick, I would rather have Ivan Rabb, but its tough to go wrong with a player like Bragg who is so physically mature and full of defensive potential.