Last night on Twitter, 2013 SF Troy Williams (Phoebus / Hampton, VA) tweeted that he is planning on "committing soon." That isn't exactly news: Williams has long let it be known that he was planning to commit sometime around the end of his junior season.
Just talk to my uncle... Commitment time is coming soooon .
— Troy Williams (@troywilliams_) April 18, 2012
Williams, who is the nephew of AAU legend Boo Williams, has been high on Kentucky's 2013 recruiting big board for some time. The Wildcats currently have one commitment in the 2013 class, local product Derek Willis from Bullitt East in Mt. Washington, KY.
Though Kentucky and North Carolina have been Williams' two favorites for some time, Williams has "officially" trimmed his list to those two schools. Yesterday, Williams cut his third finalist, Georgetown. Per Garrett Tucker of Bluegrass Hoops, Georgetown hasn't "kept in touch" as much as UK or UNC, and doesn't run as much of a player-friendly offense as Williams would like.
On Kentucky, Williams had this to say:
"Coach [John] Calipari told me I would fit well in their program. He asked me if I was ready to work hard because that is what it is going to take to play at UK," Williams explained. "He also said I have a high-motor like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but he is bigger and stronger."
A duo of Willis and Williams, ranked as a Top 20 prospect by the recruiting services, would be a great recruiting base going into the senior seasons of the 2013 class. However, picking up a commitment from Williams could call into question Kentucky's recruitment of Jabari Parker and Julius Randle, the top two prospects in the class. Parker plays small forward, the same position as Williams, whereas Randle is a power forward like Willis. Competition at the position isn't necessarily a deterrent; Nerlens Noel chose Kentucky even though the Wildcats had a recruitment from Willie Cauley-Stein. But stocking up on the forward positions early in does add another interesting element into the recruitments of Parker and Randle.
First things first: Williams is by no means a Kentucky lock, and the Wildcats would be fortunate to beat out North Carolina for the talented wing. Kentucky certainly looks like it is in a favorable position, though. With the AAU season starting, expect Kentucky's coaching staff to make Williams a high priority.