Kentucky Basketball Recruiting: Devonta Pollard Cuts UK from List of Finalists

According to a Scout Premium ($) article, 2012 SF Devonta Pollard (Porterville Kemper County) has cut Kentucky from his list of finalists. He now lists Alabama, Mississippi State, Texas, Georgetown and Missouri.

Pollard is a five-star talent, but the 6'7" combo forward has a skill set that may be redundant when put next to Kentucky signee Alex Poythress, as both are optimal fits at small forward. Kentucky certainly could still opt to continue pursuing Pollard and attempt to rotate Poythress and Pollard at the 3 and 4 positions. Just because Pollard has cut Kentucky from his list doesn't necessarily preclude John Calipari from continuing to recruit him. After all, Calipari re-initiated the recruitment of shooting guard Gary Harris (who eventually opted for Michigan St.) and Jarnell Stokes (still unsigned) after both players had cut Kentucky from their respective finalist lists.

However, it's more likely that with Poythress now on board, Calipari instead tries to sign a big man more suited to play power forward. The aforementioned Stokes is the obvious choice, as he's a natural 4. Two more names--Amile Jefferson and Anthony Bennett--are both combo forwards like Pollard. However, both Jefferson and Bennett appear to be bigger and taller, making them a better candidate to man the power forward position.

Kentucky got in late to the recruitments of Jefferson and Stokes. Both were expected to make a decision by the end of the Early Signing Period, but neither has committed to date. Jefferson, thought to be a North Carolina State lean, attended the Villanova game last night, and Stokes was spotted behind the Memphis bench on ESPN yesterday. If they are indeed deciding to wait until the Late Signing Period, that bodes well for Kentucky. It gives Calipari more time to bend their ears. As for Bennett, he's definitely waiting until the Late Signing Period to decide, and hasn't yet trimmed his list or taken official visits.

Who will Kentucky end up adding to its 2012 class? Stay tuned.