Big Blue Madness is almost here, and many of the nation’s top recruits are descending upon Lexington for the biggest recruiting event UK annually has.
Among the many visitors for Big Blue Madness will be five-star center Nick Richards five-star small forward Kevin Knox, five-star power forward P.J. Washington, and five-star points guard Quade Green and Trae Young.
Ahead of the big night, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello did a brief breakdown of these recruitments and predicted where these players will ultimately land. Borzello has UK landing three of the five players, which would be a great haul for the Cats considering it’s Young, Richards and Washington.
Kevin Knox
- Prediction: Duke
- Confidence level: 60 percent
- Toughest competition: Kentucky
- Others in the mix: North Carolina, Florida State, Kansas
Nick Richards
- Prediction: Kentucky
- Confidence level: 55 percent
- Toughest competition: Arizona
- Others in the mix: Syracuse, Connecticut, Indiana
Trae Young
- Prediction: Kentucky
- Confidence level: 55 percent
- Toughest competition: Oklahoma
- Others in the mix: Kansas, Texas Tech
P.J. Washington
- Prediction: Kentucky
- Confidence level: 75 percent
- Toughest competition: North Carolina
- Others in the mix: Arizona
Quade Green
- Prediction: Syracuse
- Confidence level: 65 percent
- Toughest competition: Kentucky
- Others in the mix: Duke, Villanova, Kansas
I would go with the same predictions ‘if’ the decisions were made now. However, I think UK is in a great spot will Knox and continues to make up ground with him, enough that I think UK has a real shot of landing him once the spring signing period rolls around.
As for Green, UK wants him, but he is hesitant to be the second point guard in any class, let alone at UK with Young possibly coming. Green is planning to commit before Young, but if he were to wait and UK end up losing out on Young, Green would very likely end up at UK.
In the end, expect UK to land Washington and Richards before the fall signing period, then get Young sometime between the fall and spring signing periods.