Kentucky keeping tabs on class of 2024 big man Somtochukwu Cyril

John Calipari might have missed out on securing a commitment from Adem Bona on Monday, but the Kentucky head coach is already on the hunt for the big man of the future.

First reported by Travis Branham of 247Sports and since confirmed by KSR, both Calipari and Kentucky assistant coach Orlando Antigua will be in Tennessee on Monday to visit Somtochukwu “Somto” Cyril. For those of you just hearing this name for the first time, know that it won’t be the last.

Cyril is a 6-foot-11, 230-pound class of 2024 big man who plays his high school ball at Hamilton Heights Academy, located right outside of Chattanooga, TN. He’s just 16 years old and hasn’t even been in the United States for a full calendar year, but judging from his early recruitment, Cyril stands to be a major prospect in the near future.

Already, the native of Nigeria has hauled in offers from the likes of Memphis, Florida, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Tennessee State, Kansas, and Georgetown. Both Rivals and ESPN have him listed as a four-star recruit in early 2024 projections.

Kentucky has yet to extend an offer to Cyril, which isn’t uncommon for UK when dealing with high school underclassmen. That being said, the Wildcat coaching staff isn’t treating Cyril like any 16 year old. The high school sophomore was joined in Lexington over the weekend by his AAU head coach, Michael Couey, for an unofficial visit. Just a few days later, he’s receiving an in-person visit from Kentucky.

“Antigua has been keeping tabs on (Cyril) for a while,” Hamilton Heights assistant coach Ben Cribbs told KSR. “Antigua has known myself and (head) coach (Steve) Cook for a while so he stays in contact.”

Cribbs said that Coach Antigua has been in and out of Hamilton Heights since the latter was coaching at Illinois; years before coming back to Kentucky. But not only that–Calipari is also familiar with the Hamilton Heights program. Former Wildcat Shai Gilgeous-Alexander spent his final two high school seasons at the school from 2016-17 before committing to UK.

Somto Cyril’s on-court game

Even though he didn’t arrive in the United States until December 2020, Cyril’s skill set has quickly developed in just a short amount of time.

While still raw offensively, he has a body that could compete at the college level right now combined with shot-blocking instincts that leave scouts gushing over his defensive potential. Coach Cribbs described Cyril as more of a “throwback” style big man; one who dunks everything around the rim and bullies the opposition inside.

“His skill level is great considering he’s only been in the U.S. for less than a year,” Coach Cribbs said. “I think it’s just going to continue to grow and it’s definitely growing at a rapid pace as far as his understanding of the game and where to be on the court.

“The main thing is he just has insane shot-blocking instincts. Like God-given instincts. He was averaging, I want to say like seven blocks a game for Adidas 3SSB–he was playing 17U over the summer. He dunks everything. He’s a throwback kind of big in terms of the physicality and size.”

The most eye-popping part of Cribbs’ quote is that Cyril was playing up two years on the AAU circuit for EAB Tennessee. As a soon-to-be sophomore, he was battling–and dominating–future high school seniors, plenty of them already committed to big-time Power 5 programs. Cyril was named the 3SSB 2021 Defensive Player of the Summer for his impressive efforts.

Looking at the numbers posted by the Adidas 3SSB website, Cyril averaged 6.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 4.9 blocks per outing while shooting over 58 percent from the floor. He’s out here breaking backboards. And when he blocks someone, he really blocks them, too.

Class of 2024 6’10 Somto Cyril is ranked #21 in the country on ESPN. He holds offers from Oklahoma State, Florida, Memphis, Tennessee, Ole Miss & Tennessee State. @somto_cyril @HHhawksbball @firstnamecook @WriterLeader247 @TelanteWebber @EAB_Tennessee @CoachCouey pic.twitter.com/JTFBHZiWXa

— Stellar Hoops 🏢 (@StellarHoops) September 7, 2021