5-star '25 SG Meleek Thomas planning visit to Kentucky

Zack Geogheganby:Zack Geoghegan12/11/23

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Meleek Thomas‘ recruitment appears to be wide open. After official visits to Michigan and Auburn in September were ultimately canceled, the five-star shooting guard is now preparing to schedule a handful of trips. One of those stops will include the Kentucky Wildcats.

According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Thomas plans to visit Kentucky, Alabama, Michigan, and Auburn “within the next few months”, although no dates have been finalized at this time. So far, the 6-foot-3, 175-pound junior out of Pittsburgh (PA) Lincoln Park has only taken unofficial visits to Penn State, Pittsburgh, Villanova, and Indiana.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari visited Thomas twice back in September. The next step is getting the No. 6 overall recruit from the class of 2025 to Lexington for an official.

Also in September, Thomas announced that he had cut his list of options down to 12. He’s considering the likes of Kentucky, Kansas State, Indiana, Kansas, Duke, Auburn, Tennessee, UConn, Pittsburgh, Michigan, Miami (FL), and Villanova. Alabama was not part of that initial list, but the Crimson Tide have seemingly made up ground and expect to receive a visit from Thomas in the coming months. Tipton also reports that Kansas State’s entire staff plus an assistant from Michigan plan to visit Thomas on Monday.

Thomas received a scholarship from Kentucky back in April. He was playing up on the Nike EYBL Circuit during the spring for New Heights Lightning 17U. Kentucky coaches were a constant presence during his AAU runs and have remained in close contact ever since. Here’s how On3’s Jamie Shaw describes Thomas’ on-court game.

“Meleek Thomas is a bucket-getter who is wired to score,” Shaw wrote. “He is electric when it comes to shooting the ball with range that extends well beyond the three-point arc and the confidence that extends to any level. He has good length with some quick-twitch pop to his game. Thomas is able to carve out space off the bounce. His dribble can get him open, and he has the ability to contort his body to get his shoulders squared upon release. He will need to continue adding weight to his frame. Scoring comes so easily to him, he can get shot happy. Thomas is a good on-ball defender and has natural instincts in the passing lanes. he is tracking as one of the top guards, nationally, in his class.”

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