Where UK Stands with the Best College Basketball Recruits in the 2018 Class

[caption id="attachment_224885" align="alignnone" width="2048"] 247[/caption] Each year the live recruiting period provides more clarity as to where Kentucky stands with players in its upcoming recruiting class. After spending a weekend watching and talking to recruits on the Nike and Adidas circuit, I have some bad news, some good news and a few other nuggets of information. First, the bad news.

It’s Not Looking Good

	Marvin Bagley Power Forward | 6-11 | 200 lbs. Phoenix, AZ | Sierra Canyon AAU: Phoenix Phamily ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 1 | 1 PF	Top247	No. 1 | 1 PF
	Rivals	No. 1 | 1 PF	Scout	No. 1 | 1 PF

Before the Peach Jam, two Rivals recruiting analysts predicted the nation’s top-ranked player would eventually become a Kentucky Wildcat. After his second game at the Peach Jam, Bagley said he’ll “eventually get to Kentucky,” but he did not mean that in a good way. The 6’11” athlete that does it all will visit Duke this week. Now the most likely East Coast destination for the West Coast kid, the word on the street is that Bagley could reclassify to play college basketball this year. He should do it. He’s wasting his time playing high school basketball. I just hope it’s USC, not Duke. If Bagley doesn’t reclassify to 2017, Kentucky will still be in the mix, but I would not get my hopes up.

	Romeo Langford  Shooting Guard| 6-5 | 190 lbs. New Albany, IN | New Albany High School AAU: 22 Vision ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 3 | 1 SG	Top247	No. 3 | 1 SG
	Rivals	No. 3 | -- SG	Scout	No. 3 | 1 SG

Langford’s recruitment has been the most entertaining since Patrick Patterson/Jai Lucas. Living in the middle of UK/IU/UofL country, the country’s top-ranked wing from New Albany, Indiana has created a buzz the area hasn’t seen in years. Now everybody knows somebody that knows somebody that knows sumthin’ bout (h/t Trick Daddy). Amidst all of the buzz there were two schools that stood out early in the process: Duke and Kentucky, with the Blue Devils receiving a slight edge. Now, neither school is a serious contender, especially Duke. After a game at the Adidas Gauntlet Finale in Spartanburg, Langford said he is no longer communicating with Duke. The Duke vacancy isn’t an opportunity for Calipari. Even though many believed coaching Team USA in Egypt would be nothing but a positive for Coach Cal, that’s not the case with Langford. Even if he wasn’t limited by back spasms, Langford still wasn’t going to be a star for that team, forced to take a backseat to another UK recruit. Langford’s recruitment will be a circus for the next nine months. His recent, sudden change could reverse course later in the process, but it’s doubtful to turn toward UK following his Team USA experience. Indiana and Texas were two prominent names to watch, two places where Langford can be the show.

UK is the Team to Beat 

	Cameron Reddish Small Forward | 6-8 | 196 lbs. Norristown, PA | Westtown AAU: Team Final ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 4 | 1 SF	Top247	No. 4 | 2 SF
	Rivals	No. 5 | 2 SF	Scout	No. 4 | 1 SF

Reddish is the reason Langford will most likely not play college basketball in Lexington. A 6’8” forward with elite guard skills, Reddish received the starting two-spot for Team USA instead of Langford. Even if he didn’t directly take Langford’s place, the way Calipari played Reddish all but convinced Langford he can’t play with Cam. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmA2IT_uzJg This is not necessarily bad news. If Langford isn’t scoring, there's not much else he can do to contribute. Reddish can do just about anything and everything at any given moment on a basketball court. His three-point shot has improved, but if it’s not falling he can get easy buckets in the post. Defensively, Reddish is a physical presence and an excellent rebounder. Intitially perceived as a Duke-lean, Reddish told Kyle Tucker the Blue Devils are "absolutely not" his leader. Cal’s Team USA experience will help get Reddish to UK.  For another recruit, that experience helped even more.

	Immanuel Quickley Point Guard (2018) | 6-3 | 175 lbs. Bel Air, MD | John Carroll School AAU: Team BBC ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 14 | 2 PG	Top247	No. 16 | 5 PG
	Rivals	No. 15 | 4 PG	Scout	No. 10 | 3 PG

The point guard has not committed to Kentucky, but everybody already considers Quickley a Wildcat. There are still some people in his ear trying to convince him to stay home to play for Maryland, but that’s highly doubtful. Quickley doesn’t just speak positively about his experience with Calipari, he provides glowing reviews and discusses the importance of working with him over the summer. Even though I’d seen Quickley in action for Team USA, he was even more impressive in Spartanburg, playing off just one day of rest in the last month. An excellent passer with an improved shot, Quickley’s skills will be valuable to Kentucky, but maybe not as valuable as his ability to bring other elite recruits into the fold.   Just like Quade Green in 2017, Quickley’s skill-set and personality will attract some of the best in the nation to UK.

	Zion Williamson Forward | 6-7 | 220 lbs. Spartanburg, SC | Spartanburg AAU: SC Supreme ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 2 | 2 PF	Top247	No. 1 | 1 SF
	Rivals	No. 2 | 1 SF	Scout	No. 2 | 2 PF

The previous two players are certainly close to committing to Kentucky.  Zion is not close to making a decision, but Kentucky does appear to be in much better shape, thanks to Quickley. “Me and Immanuel are good friends," Williamson said.  "We bonded over the Adidas Path and I just love the way he plays point guard.  That’s the type of point guard I want to play with.” They don’t make big guys as explosive as Zion is. Truly a marvel to watch, his highlights don’t do it justice. I could write 1,300 words about him (like Jack did here) but it still doesn’t encapsulate his presence on and off the court. A Spartanburg native, he brought crowds that are abnormal for AAU events. Those crowds will try to convince him to stay home and play for Frank Martin at South Carolina. After the Gamecocks' Final Four run, it’s possible. He’s also the kind of kid that would stay home. We will not know Zion’s destination for a long time, but Kentucky is in a better place now than they’ve ever been before.

There's a Long Way to Go

	Bol Bol Power Forward/Center | 7-3 | 225 lbs. Santa Ana, CA | Mater Dei AAU: Cal Supreme ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 41 | 13 PF	Top247	No. 5 | 2 PF
	Rivals	No. 7 | 3 PF	Scout	No. 13 | 3 C

Bol is a beast that can help you quickly forget the Cats are seemingly out of the picture for Marvin Bagley. A 7’3” guy with elite offensive skills (even a jump shot that can extend beyond the three-point line), it’s unbelievable that he didn’t make the cut for Team USA. Bol did not sound too terribly upset that he did not make the team, but Kenny Payne made sure Bol knew immediately after the cut that he should have made the team. Even though many recruiting analysts are hearing he will stay on the West Coast, Calipari is in a good position. Coach Cal will continue to build that relationship throughout the year until Bol makes a decision next spring.

	Quentin Grimes Point Guard | 6-4 | 175 lbs. The Woodlands, TX | College Park AAU: Basketball University ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 14 | 2 PG	Top247	No. 8 | 1 PG
	Rivals	No. 12 | 3 PG	Scout	No. 24 | 6 PG

Considered one of the top point guards in the class, he’s not really a point guard, he’s a shooting guard. The one time I watched Grimes play, he scored 30 and made threes from all over the floor. A guy that could complement Immanuel Quickley well on the wing, Kentucky likes their position with Grimes, even though the 247 Crystal Ball currently predicts Grimes will end up at Kansas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4lu437IyIU

Questionable

	Darius Garland Point Guard | 6-2 | 170 lbs. Brentwood, TN | Brentwood Academy AAU: St. Louis Eagles ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 11 | 1 PG	Top247	No. 10 | 2 PG
	Rivals	No. 12 |   --	Scout	No. 8 | 2 PG

The Cats held off on extending a scholarship offer to the nation’s top-ranked point guard until this weekend.  Reading between the lines, the move was probably because of the situation with Romeo Langford. Long seen as a Duke-lean, it’ll be interesting to see if Kentucky gets any traction following the offer.

	Moses Brown Center | 7-1 | 210 lbs. Briarwood, NY | Archbishop Malloy AAU: New Heights ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 6 | 2 C	Top247	No. 25 | 2 C
	Rivals	No. 7 |  --	Scout	No. 6 | 2 C

Calipari has watched the nation’s top-ranked center (Bol and Bagley are considered forwards) multiple times on the Under Armour circuit, including tonight, however, he has yet to extend a scholarship offer to Brown. The Cats might not lose a ton of talent in the post after next season. Brown will likely be UK’s next option if things do not go well with Bol.

	Louis King Small Forward | 6-6 | 205 lbs. Columbus, NJ | Hudson Catholic AAU: Team Final ★★★★★
	ESPN	No. 16 | 2 SF	Top247	No. 14 | 3 SF
	Rivals	No. 16 |   --	Scout	No. 12 | 3 SF

One of the wings on Team USA and Cam Reddish’s AAU teammate, King has not been shy about his intentions: he wants a scholarship offer from Kentucky. King believes he did enough in Egypt to earn one, but Cal still has not pulled the trigger.  If he does, it would not take King long to do the same and commit to Kentucky.