Hey there, diehard recruitniks. Here's your post-Early Signing Period update, better known as And Then There Were Three. Since our last Big Board update in September, John Calipari snagged two more recruits to go along with Kentucky's first commitment, sharp-shooting Arkansan Archie Goodwin. Those two would be Willie Cauley, a hulking center out of Kansas, and Alex Poythress, a versatile forward from Tennessee.
Of course, you win some, you lose some. The Wildcats also missed out on a few recruits who decided to commit, including two very highly regarded and hotly recruited prospects, center DaJuan Coleman and shooting guard Gary Harris. With a flurry of activity in the Early Signing Period, there are just a handful of top 100 recruits left on the overall big board--and Kentucky has its eyes on most of them.
With a large amount of attrition expected following this season, the Wildcats are still looking for two to three more prospects to fill out the 2012 recruiting class. Which players are Kentucky hotly pursuing? Find out after the jump.
Please be advised that table is best-viewed in "Wide" screen mode, which you can toggle via your dashboard. It's jam-packed with information that just can't be contained!
| Name | Pos | School (Hometown) |
Ranking (Scout/Rivals/ESPNU) |
Offer (Odds) |
Commitment (Odds) | Favorite School(s) | News & Notes | Trending (since 9/23/11) |
|
Willie Cauley |
C | Olathe Northwest (Spearville, KS) | Scout: 4*/28th Rivals: 4*/39th ESPNU: 4*/32nd |
Offered |
Committed (10/31/11)
|
Signed (11/9/11)
|
11/9/11 - Cauley signed his LOI on Nov 9. 10/31/11 - Cauley committed to UK over KSU on Oct 31. |
 |
| Anthony Bennett |
PF/SF | Findlay Prep (Brampton, Ont) | Scout: 5*/9th Rivals: 5*/7th ESPNU: 5*/7th |
Offered | 25% |
UConn Florida Kentucky Ohio St Oregon Pittsburgh UNLV Washington West Va |
10/12/11 - Per Jeff Borzello (CBS Sports), Bennett is "not yet focused" on recruiting. He has not taken any official visits and will likely not decide until the Late Signing Period in April. |
 |
| Jarnell Stokes |
PF | Southwind (Memphis) | Scout: 5*/17th Rivals: 5*/11th ESPNU: 5*/18th |
Offered | 25% |
Memphis Arkansas Kentucky Florida Tennessee UConn |
11/21/11 - Stokes was ruled athletically ineligible at his new school, Southwind. If he stays, he will not play high school basketball in his senior year. 11/16/11 - Stokes was expected to make a decision during the Early Signing Period, but decided against it. Kentucky could be in a good position here, but Memphis is thought to be the longtime favorite. 11/5/11 - After falling off UK's radar, John Calipari renewed interest with the talented big man, paying off in an official visit from Stokes on Nov 5. |
|
| Amile Jefferson |
PF/SF | Friends Central (Philadelphia) | Scout: 5*/20th Rivals: 4*/36th ESPNU: 4*/24th |
Offered | 25% | NC State Kentucky UConn Stanford Ohio St Villanova |
11/16/11 - Jefferson was expected to make a decision during the Early Signing Period, but decided against it. He's considered an NC State lean, but word is that Calipari made quite an impression. 10/22/11 - Jefferson took an official visit to UK on Oct 22 along with Gary Harris. His parents did not visit, and the unsubstantiated rumor is that Jefferson would like his parents to visit the campus prior to making a decision. |
|
| Christopher Obekpa |
PF | Our Savior New American (Centereach, NY) | Scout: 4*/UR Rivals: 3*/105th ESPNU: 4*/91st |
Not Yet Offered (5%) | N/A |
St. John's UConn GA Tech West Va Cincinnati Memphis Providence |
11/16/11 - No new UK news on Obekpa, who remains uncommitted. He's an "on the radar" guy at this point. |
|
| Shabazz Muhammad |
SF/SG | Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) |
Scout: 5*/1st Rivals: 5*/1st ESPNU: 5*/1st |
Offered | 40% |
UCLA Kentucky Duke Kansas UNLV Texas A&M Arizona USC |
11/16/11 - As expected, Muhammad did not commit during the Early Signing Period. He has three more official visits to take and will take his time considering his options. 10/14/11 - Muhammad took an official visit to UK for Big Blue Madness. |
|
| Alex Poythress |
SF/PF | Northeast (Clarksville, TN) |
Scout: 5*/16th Rivals: 5*/19th ESPNU: 5*/17th |
Offered |
Committed (11/10/11)
|
Signed (11/10/11)
|
11/10/11 - Poythress committed to over Memphis, Vandy and UF on Nov 10 and signed his LOI on the same day. |
|
| Devonta Pollard |
SF/PF | Kemper County (DeKalb, MS) |
Scout: 5*/21st Rivals: 5*/9th ESPNU: 5*/20th |
Offered | 10% |
Miss St Alabama Texas Missouri Georgetown Kentucky NC State |
11/16/11 - Per Gene Swindoll (Scout), Pollard has five finalists. However, he is also still considering UK and NC St and has not officially dropped UK. Because of football season, Pollard has yet to take any official visits and will decide in the spring. |
 |
| Winston Shepard |
SF | Findlay Prep (Fresno, TX) |
Scout: 4*/43rd Rivals: 4*/40th ESPNU: 4*/68th |
Not Yet Offered (5%) |
N/A |
New Mexico UNLV SDSU UTEP Georgia OK St |
11/16/11 - No new UK news on Shepard, who remains uncommitted. He's an "on the radar" guy at this point, but looks like an eventual mid-major commit. |
|
| Archie Goodwin |
SG | Sylvan Hills (Little Rock, AR) |
Scout: 5*/13th Rivals: 5*/12th ESPNU: 5*/13th |
Offered |
Committed (9/20/11)
|
Signed (11/15/11)
|
11/15/11 - Goodwin signed his LOI on Nov 15. 9/20/11 - Goodwin committed to UK over Memphis and Arkansas on Sep 20. |
|
| Torian Graham |
SG | Word of God (Durham, NC) |
Scout: 4*/51st Rivals: 4*/51st ESPNU: 4*/38th |
Not Yet Offered (5%) |
0% |
NC State Xavier Miami Memphis Kentucky |
11/16/11 - Aside from surprisingly dropping Maryland from his list, Graham's Early Signing Period was relatively quiet. He's a former NC State commit, but has always liked UK. So far, UK hasn't exactly reciprocated interest. |
|
| DaJuan Coleman |
C | Jamesville-DeWitt (DeWitt, NY) |
Scout: 5*/11th Rivals: 4*/27th ESPNU: 5*/14th |
Offered | 0% |
Syracuse |
10/25/11 - Coleman committed to SU over UK and OSU on Oct 25. |
|
| Mitch McGary |
PF/C | Brewster Academy (Chesterton, IN) | Scout: 5*/2nd Rivals: 5*/3rd ESPNU: 5*/2nd |
Offered | 0% |
Michigan |
11/3/11 - McGary committed to Michigan over Duke and UF on Nov 3. |
|
| Brandon Ashley |
PF | Findlay Prep (Oakland, CA) | Scout: 5*/3rd Rivals: 5*/13th ESPNU: 5*/4th |
Offered | 0% |
Arizona | 8/29/11 - Ashley committed to Arizona over UCLA, Oregon, and UK on Aug 29. | |
| Perry Ellis |
PF | Wichita Heights (Wichita, KS) |
Scout: 4*/33rd Rivals: 5*/24th ESPNU: 4*/37th |
Offered | 0% |
Kansas |
9/21/11 - Ellis committed to KU over UK, KSU, and Wich St on Sep 21. |
|
| TJ Warren |
SF | Brewster Academy (Durham, NC) |
Scout: 5*/22nd Rivals: 5*/23rd ESPNU: 4*/23rd |
Offered |
0% |
NC State |
11/2/11 - Warren committed to NC State over Georgetown on Nov 2. |
|
| Gary Harris |
SG | Hamilton Southeastern (Indianapolis) |
Scout: 5*/12th Rivals: 5*/25th ESPNU: 5*/10th |
Offered |
0% |
Michigan St |
11/9/11 - Harris committed to Michigan St over IU, UK and Purdue on Nov 9. |
|
| Ricardo Ledo |
SG | Notre Dame (Providence) |
Scout: 4*/25th Rivals: 5*/8th ESPNU: 4*/22nd |
Offered | 0% |
Providence |
9/5/11 - Ledo committed to Providence over UK, Syracuse and UConn on Sep 5. |
|
| JP Tokoto |
SG/SF | Menomonee Falls (Menomonee Falls, WI) |
Scout: 4*/86th Rivals: 4*/68th ESPNU: 4*/65th |
Offered | 0% |
UNC |
3/4/11 - Tokoto committed to UNC over Wisconsin on Mar 4. |
|
| LJ Rose |
PG | Westbury Christian (Houston) |
Scout: 4*/66th Rivals: 4*/95th ESPNU: 4*/74th |
Offered | 0% |
Baylor |
9/3/11 - Rose committed to Baylor over Georgetown and Virginia on Sep 3. |
|
Note: Likelihood of offer and likelihood of commitment are estimates based on available information. Percentage statuses change as new information becomes available.
Scholarship Situation
As of today, Kentucky has two graduating seniors in Eloy Vargas and Darius Miller. Returnees in 2012 would include Ryan Harrow (RS sophomore), Jon Hood (RS junior), Doron Lamb (junior), Terrence Jones (junior) and the 2011 class of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Anthony Davis and Kyle Wiltjer. Jones, Lamb, Kidd-Gilchrist, Teague and Davis are strong early entrant candidates. The Wildcats also return two preferred walk-ons, Jarrod Polson (junior) and Twany Beckham (senior).
There are two new noteworthy items. The first is that Stacey Poole, who would have been a junior next year, has decided to transfer, freeing up a scholarship. The second is that the NBA Lockout continues its downward spiral into an unlimited abyss. The owners are said to be heavily pushing for a two-year and/or 20 year-old age minimum, which could possibly prevent a player like Anthony Davis from entering the draft. However, even if such a clause is agreed upon in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, it could be grandfathered to excuse this year's freshmen class. On the off-chance that the lockout continues into the next NBA season, obviously there would be no draft to speak of, and all four of Kentucky's freshmen would return.
There's a strong chance Kentucky goes into the 2012-13 season with just three returning scholarship players: Harrow, Hood, and Wiltjer. Based on the above, Kentucky could have as many as 10 scholarships open, or as few as 5. At this point, if all things shake out as expected, it looks like Kentucky will target a 5 to 6 man class.
Remaining Targets - Bigs (Needs: 2-4)
Make no mistake about it: Willie Cauley was a huge get for the Wildcats. Although he fancies himself as a power forward, Cauley has a true center's build that should only get bulkier in a college weightroom. As evidenced so far this season (Anthony Davis is an NBA forward masquerading as a college center), not having a true center on the floor is a limitation. The Cauley commitment was huge because Kentucky lost out on its two other center prospects, DaJuan Coleman (to Syracuse) and Mitch McGary (to Michigan). The only other college-ready center prospect still uncommitted is Tony Parker, who hasn't been linked to Kentucky at all.
Now that John Calipari can breathe a little easier about his 5 spot, his attention turns to who he wants to recruit at the 4. Luckily for Kentucky, there's quite a few targets remaining there. In late September, Calipari started paying attention to Amile Jefferson, and followed that up by renewing interest in Jarnell Stokes in October. It was previously thought that both players would decide early; now both are waiting until the spring and are heavily considering Kentucky. The third name to be aware of is Anthony Bennett, who had no fall recruiting activity and will wait until the spring to decide. Of the three, Stokes appears to be the truest 4, which Jefferson and Bennett are more perimeter-oriented players who grew into a college 4 body. Any one of the three is a take.
Beyond those three names, it's possible that Calipari starts recruiting someone new entirely, such as St. John's decommits Ricardo Gathers or Jakarr Sampson. However, the only name we have listed on the board right now is Christopher Obekpa, who has been tangentially linked to Kentucky. Even if the Wildcats are able to land one of the three five-star studs above, they could still look to mine an under-the-radar prospect or D1-ready junior college player for frontcourt depth.
Remaining Targets - Wings (Needs: 1-2)
Alex Poythress turned a very good recruiting class into a great one. On the second day of the Early Signing Period, Poythress shocked many when he donned a blue and white cap. He had previously kept a tight-lipped recruitment, and speculation on who Poythress would pick varied wildly between Kentucky, Memphis, and Vanderbilt. He's an excellent combo forward who could flex to a power forward role if needed, similar to Terrence Jones.
Because of his versatility, Calipari can still go full bore after Shabazz Muhammad as well as the power forward prospects above without alienating any of his recruits. But make no mistake: Muhammad is still priority number one and will be until he signs elsewhere. It's very likely that Muhammad doesn't make a decision until after the Late Signing Period has commenced, so strap in for the long haul.
Devonta Pollard also holds a Kentucky offer, but because his skill set is so similar to Poythress', he may not be a priority for Calipari going into high school basketball season. Winston Shepard, much like Obekpa, has been linked to Kentucky but is a long shot to get an offer at this point. One name that won't be a Wildcat is TJ Warren, who decided to sign with hometown NC State.
Remaining Targets - Guards (Needs: 1-3)
Kentucky came close to getting Gary Harris to join Archie Goodwin in the backcourt, but Harris ultimately decided to sign with Michigan State.
Beyond that, there's not much news on the guard recruiting front. Torian Graham remains uncommitted, but he hasn't heard from Kentucky in a while. With Harris out of the picture, it appears that Calipari will focus all efforts on Muhammad and convince him that he and Goodwin can co-exist as flex options at the 2 and 3.
Kentucky is still not pursuing a point guard in this year's class, as transfer Ryan Harrow is slated to assume those duties in 2012.
Outlook
With Kentucky now sporting a very talented three man class, it's time for Wildcats fans to get greedy and shoot for an unprecedented fourth straight #1 recruiting class.
But first, the priority should be finding a second power forward to go along with Kyle Wiltjer next year. At this point, Stokes, Jefferson and Bennett are all neck and neck (hence I have them all listed at 25% chance of committing). The next few months should unveil how much Calipari likes each prospect, and conversely, how much each prospect really likes Kentucky.
If Calipari can lock down his 4, then the last piece of the puzzle would be a commitment from uber-prospect Muhammad. Hopefully by the time Muhammad is ready to commit, the Cats have one of those pretty National Championship trophies to dangle as the ultimate persuasive recruiting tool.
Follow my Twitter feed (@JC_Hoops) for the latest updates and keep an eye out for the next big board update.
Other Recruiting Big Boards
2012 | Version 3 (9/23/11) | Version 2 (7/25/11) | Version 1 (4/21/11)
2013/14 | Version 1 (5/25/11)
2011 | Version 2 (4/25/11) | Version 1 (4/15/11)