Paolo Banchero shook the recruiting world on Thursday when he announced his commitment to the Duke Blue Devils.
Banchero, ranked 2021 by Rivals in 2021, was long regarded as a Kentucky skinny, although SEC rival Tennessee picked up a lot of steam after he took a pledge from Banchero’s good friend Kennedy Chandler. The two had discussed collaboration in college, and this started to become what looked like a Cats vs. Full battle for the elite recruit.
While losing a recruit like Banchero is always a hard pill to swallow, he did Kentucky at least a small advantage by doing so now. If he had waited until spring, as expected, and chosen a school other than Kentucky, other 2021 options would probably have already been off the board.
It’s only August, so there’s still plenty of time for John Calipari and his staff to target other frontcourt players in 2021 and maybe even 2022 re-entry candidates.
So, who should Kentucky turn their focus to now?
Patrick Baldwin Jr.
While Banchero is a consensus of the top five yards, one player is ahead of him in any major 2021 ranking ahead of Patrick Baldwin Jr. Seen as a combo forward who could play the 3 or 4 in college, the second ranking at 247 Sports has been seen for much of his recruitment as a Duke reward.
Does that change now that Duke has Banchero and colleague 2021 ahead of AJ Griffin in the fold?
Griffin, who also pursued Kentucky before making his promise to the Blue Devils, stands at 6-7, 200 pounds and is a consensus top-10 recruiting ranking as high as fifth overall by 247 Sports. The Griffin duo and the 6-9, 235-pound Banchero will be an elite frontcourt tandem at Duke.
Duke also has three incoming top-50 big men in Jaemyn Brakefield, Mark Williams and Henry Coleman. They also have Jalen Johnson, but he is widely projected as a one-and-done prospect.
If even two of Coleman / Brakefield / Williams are back for other seasons, they could potentially play big roles in a front court that already has Banchero and Griffin in the fold.
So yes, Duke’s forward for 2021-22 already looks pretty good. Will Baldwin participate in the derby, or will there be too many mouths to eat for his taste?
Who knows, but it’s something to do with Baldwin. Maybe Kentucky can actually put some serious pressure on him right now.
It is worth noting that Baldwin’s father, Pat Baldwin, is the head coach at Milwaukee, and they are considered a serious candidate for the younger Baldwin. Kentucky is seen as the third place in this recruitment.
Moussa Diabate
Back in December, it was reported that Kentucky showed interest in 2021 ahead of Moussa Diabate, who is currently ranked 7th by ESPN and 11th by 247 Sports. The 6-10, 215-pound Frenchman looks like a Day 1 starter for every program in America, although he was recently named one of the toughest recruits by Rivals.
There has been no Kentucky buzz in his recruiting since December, but perhaps that changes now that Banchero is off the board. It’s not clear how realistic of an option he’s for the Wildcats at the moment, but he’s about as good of a leftover option as Kentucky will find in the 2021 class.
Jabari Smith and Michael Foster
Kentucky has had a very small net cast for a while in 2021, and perhaps that was evidenced by the lack of public interest in Jabari Smith or Michael Foster. The 6-10, 210-pound Smith is ranked fourth overall by 247 Sports, just behind Banchero. Kentucky stretched itself out last summer, but that’s about the extent of public interest between the two sides.
What the 6-9 for. Foster of 200 pounds, he has said he wants to visit Kentucky, but there has never been more to his recruitment from the Kentucky side. He is ranked 10th overall by 247 Sports. Foster joins Hillcrest Prep, who already has NCAA eligibility issues, so maybe that has something to do with Kentucky not recruiting him publicly.
However, Kentucky has or will hopefully veteran both recruits and determine if they are legitimate options for next season. They’re both too talented for Kentucky to at least not tighten the ties.
Daimion Collins
With the news that Kentucky Texas assistant Jai Lucas could add to John Calipari’s staff, some options may appear from the Lone Star State. Most obvious is Daimion Collins, a five-star center that ranks 20th overall at Rivals. The versatile big man from Atlanta (TX) is compared to Nuggets forward Jerami Grant.
The home state of Longhorns has been seen as the favorite, but will that change when Lucas joins Kentucky staff? If nothing else, it should help Calipari get his foot in the door from this recruitment.
Franck Kepnang
This is a name that Kentucky has shown interest in, though that was still when the 6-11, 247-pound Kepnang considered a reshuffle in 2020. He said Kentucky was still in touch, even after he decided to stay in 2021, but there has not been much new in his recruitment since then, and nothing to Kentucky.
The coronavirus is making it harder to recruit this summer, so maybe we’ll learn more about recruiting Kepnang once the high school season begins. However, it feels like he is currently a backup option and is not really close to being offered by Kentucky.
Efton Reid
This is another recruiting that Kentucky contacted as a potential candidate for redistribution, but he also chose to stay in the 2021 class. Since then, there has been no real Kentucky conversation with the 6-11, 225-pound center ranking 28th nationally by 247 Sports. He is one to keep in mind, but like Kepnang, Reid looks more like a backup option, even after the loss of Banchero.
Bryce Hopkins
Even before Banchero started for Duke, a Bryce Hopkins-Kentucky parcel won a heavy treat, including a few Rivals FutureCast picks from Cats Illustrated reporters Travis Graff and David Sisk.
And if you follow ace Andrew Slater’s 247 Sports recruitment, he’d like to drop subtle hints on Twitter about where certain recruits are attracted. Slater posted this on Wednesday, about 24 hours before Banchero committed himself to Duke.
Missing on Banchero should make it a near-lock that Hopkins is offered by Kentucky, which suddenly seems like a major favorite if and when that happens. The 6-7, 220-pound Hopkins can play as the 3rd as the 4th and is ranked as the 41st overall recruit by 247 Sports. He is expected to get a big hug in the next round of recruiting rankings, possibly even in five-star status.
Right now, Hopkins is my pick for Kentucky’s next frontcourt engagement.
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield
While missing out on Banchero stings, Kentucky could still technically end up with a top-five recruit and no. 1 power forward.
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, who has been widely regarded as a Kentucky salary for the past year, is currently the fifth-ranked recruit in 2022 and the top-ranked power forward at Rivals, where he currently has four FutureCast. predictions are in favor of the Wildcats.
Huntley-Hatfield recently announced his new list and said he is not a lock for Kentucky, but the belief in circulars is still that he will eventually classify and rock Kentucky Blue.
It will always be difficult to convince Huntley-Hatfield and Banchero to join a front court that Isaiah Jackson and Lance Ware could have for 2021-22, not to mention that Calipari is likely to pursue at least one front court. There’s also a small chance that Keion Brooks Jr. for a junior season is back. And don’t forget about the 6-8 Jacob Toppin, who will be redshirt this year and could end up being a combo forward who will play the 3 and 4 spots next year.
Now that Banchero is off the board, Kentucky will have to enter next year only to get Huntley-Hatfield to Lexington.
The rabbit in the hat
Kentucky is certainly struggling when it comes to re-recruiting the program-changing recruits. Recruits at the level of John Wall, Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle have opted for other schools instead over the last five years, and it looks like Kentucky may not get a top-five recruit in 2021 either.
Maybe, just maybe, that will lead to Kentucky getting players who, while not as talented, may be willing to make a big impact in college from Game 1 all the way through the NCAA Tournament,
That’s because the NCAA is expected to adopt a one-time transfer rule that would essentially place any college player in front of schools like Kentucky if they research the transfer portal. It is not to say what level of players can enter the portal if they can go to any college program of their choice and be eligible immediately.
The combination of Kentucky and John Calipari will definitely encourage some big-name players to take over at Lexington next season. And that gives Kentucky a little more room to miss big recruits and yet potentially end up with a great time player who already has college experience, something you just can not learn from incoming recruits.
So yes, losing Banchero is a backlog, but Kentucky will still likely have a lot of options when it comes to filling the 2021-22 placement.
