2022 five-star center Dereck Lively II earns scholarship offer from Kentucky
2022 five-star center Dereck Lively II has earned a scholarship offer from Kentucky.
Arriving for his official visit to Lexington late Sunday afternoon, the 7-foot-1 center received his offer from John Calipari and the UK coaching staff just a few hours after being on campus, he told KSR.
“I’ve been waiting for it,” Lively told KSR following the meeting. “I was at dinner and he told me personally that I had a lifetime scholarship to Kentucky.”
2022 five-star center Dereck Lively just received an offer from Kentucky, he tells KSR.
“Been waiting for it,” he said.
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) June 21, 2021
Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com was the first to break the news.
Lively, one of the fastest-rising prospects in the class of 2022, is rated as high as No. 14 overall and No. 2 at the center position by Rivals.com. Kentucky joins the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Michigan, Penn State, Florida and LSU to extend offers.
“It’s been great, building a relationship between me and Coach Cal. We’ve been talking about, if I go there, they can make me the best player I can possibly be,” Lively told KSR of his relationship with Calipari at the Pangos All-American Camp in Las Vegas. “When I think about myself and my game, I remind myself of Anthony Davis. Anthony Davis went there and started to blossom there, and that’s something I’m thinking about and feel that’s something I could do as well.
“He’s been talking about how, individually, I can do a lot more than some of the other bigs that have come through the program at my age, but there’s a lot more he can do with my game and he’s showing me the ropes of how he’s going to get me better.”
The five-star center tells KSR that he could “definitely” see himself playing at Kentucky at the next level.
“Kentucky has always been one of the top programs, they’ve always competed, they’ve always brought great energy,” Lively told KSR. “That’s something I could definitely be a part of. If I were to go there, we would win, and that’s just something I’d love to be a part of.”
With a scholarship offer now in hand, he officially has the opportunity to make that happen.
Come on down.
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