Could Luke Kennard Follow His Dad's Path To The Bluegrass?

by:Andrew Cassady07/14/13

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One of the many players Cal took in while watching some hoops in Augusta was 2015 guard Luke Kennard. Kennard who is capable of playing multiple positions and draws comparisons to Kevin Durant has been in touch with the staff of the Cats. "Coach Cal texts me some, Coach Orlando [Antigua] does too,” he said. “They said they’re going to come watch me play. Right at the beginning of the game, I kind of glanced over there and saw them sitting over there,” and if the number 21 player in the class of 2015 does end up in Lexington he would be following a similar path to the one his father took some 30 years ago.

Ben Roberts of the Herald Leader spoke with the elder Kennard about his son's recruitment and found that Mark had played his college basketball at nearby Georgetown college. It turns out Luke has always liked the Cats

Kentucky hasn't offered Kennard yet, but there's definitely some mutual interest. UK's coaches invited the smooth-shooting lefty to visit the Lexington campus more than a year ago. He and his parents made the trip, which included a talk with Calipari. "They just wanted me to come down and look around and talk to the coaches," Luke said. "I went in Coach Cal's office and he just talked about different stuff. He was straightforward with me and said this program's not for everybody. You have to have that certain mentality to come here and play." Calipari found a willing recruit in Kennard, who grew up rooting for the UK basketball team despite living in the Buckeye State. "I always loved Tayshaun Prince," he said. "He was my favorite player in college." "I love Lexington," Mark said, a few minutes after Luke talked about wearing Wildcats gear as a kid and touring the "unbelievable" facilities on UK's campus.
Luke holds an offer from Ohio State already which is just up the road but if the Cats send an offer his way it definitely sounds like he has some interest. As absurd as it is to say Cal's classes haven't really extended into the twentieth ranked player range as he has been able to land a top 15 shooting guard. But as the class of 2015 starts to shape up Luke could be one name to keep an eye one. A Cat fan that can really play is always welcome in my opinion.

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