Kentucky Basketball Recruiting: New ESPN Rankings and Highlights for UK Signees

The 2015-16 Kentucky Wildcats may be struggling, but that won't overshadow how special next year's team is shaping up to be.

The ESPN 2016 basketball recruiting rankings have been updated, and they really like all of UK's signees. Edrice 'Bam' Adebayo as UK's best signee with three other future Wildcats among the top eight prospects. ESPN ranks UK's class at No. 1 overall with the Duke Blue Devils and Michigan State Spartans right behind them.

While Bam is the highest-rated Wildcat, fellow five-star forward Wenyen Gabriel made the biggest rise of UK's five signees, climbing all the way to the No. 15 spot:

Wenyen Gabriel, 6-10, PF, Wilbraham & Monson Academy (MA) -- No one helped their stock more during last July's recruiting period than Gabriel, who not only jumped 50 spots in national rankings but also earned his choice of Duke and Kentucky (among others). Following a fall pledge to John Calipari and UK, Gabriel has spent the first two months of his senior season reiterating his July demonstration and jumping eight more spots in the process. He's grown to a legit 6-foot-10, is very long with a high motor and continuing to expand his attack on the perimeter.

The other four future Cats are point guard De’Aaron Fox at No. 7, shooting guard Malik Monk at No. 8, and forward Sacha Killeya-Jones at No. 27. UK is also strongly in the running for five-star center Marques Bolden, who comes in at No. 20.

Now, here's a roundup of all the latest highlight reels for the five UK signees.

And here's one of Monk talking briefly about why he picked UK and what he expects in college.