'Kentucky Not Even Really in the Picture' for 5-Star Guard Jason Crowe Jr.

2026 five-star guard Jason Crowe Jr. is less than two weeks away from making his college decision. For a while, Kentucky was perceived as the favorite, but things have changed.

On3 and Rivals national basketball analyst Joe Tipton joined Here Comes the Boom on Wednesday to share his thoughts on Crowe’s recruitment. When Crowe’s commitment date of July 18 was first announced, he thought Kentucky was going to be the school.

“Heading down the final stretch of this recruitment, I think I assumed, just like everybody else, that Jason Crowe Jr. was probably going to end up at Kentucky,” Tipton said. “If you follow recruiting closely, then you know, his dad, Jason Crowe Sr., is very close friends with Kentucky assistant Jason Hart. They go back, I think, to their high school days at Inglewood High School. Jason Crowe Jr. was set to play for G League Ignite, who, guess who the head coach was, Jason Hart. There’s already the connection there. He was already set to play for him before that league dissolved. The writing on the wall was, hey, it’s Kentucky, and he’ll probably end up there.”

A Shift in the Recruitment

However, it didn’t take long for Jason Crowe Jr.’s recruitment to shift. After making some calls, Tipton realized a new school had emerged: the Missouri Tigers.

“I was actually quite surprised when I dug a little bit and was able to break the whole thing open,” Tipton said. “Now, the frontrunner is actually Mizzou. Kentucky is not even really in the picture. It’s Mizzou. They’re kind of the leader in the clubhouse. USC and Texas are the other schools to watch.”

Tipton couldn’t give a clear answer on why Kentucky lost traction in the recruitment. However, he knows that one school is emerging as the favorite.

“I don’t even know what happened or what transpired specifically in regards to Kentucky and Jason Crowe, but Missouri is definitely the team to watch as we head down he final stretch here.”

See more of Tipton’s comments on Kentucky’s recruiting efforts in the latest episode of Here Comes The Boom below.

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