The Kentucky Wildcats may have a new basketball target in 2017.
According to Ben Roberts of the Herald-Leader, a UK coach is expected to watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Monday. Alexander is a four-star guard from the 2017 class who recently decommitted from the Florida Gators.
The 6-5 guard out of Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga (TN) averaged a team-high 15.8 points and 4.8 assists for Wings Elite on the Nike EYBL circuit this year.
Depending on which recruiting service you read, Alexander is listed as either a shooting guard or point guard. His AAU coach believes the point is where he’ll play in college.
“He’s a true point guard, very long, athletic, excellent shooter,” Alexander’s Canada AAU coach Dwayne Washington told gainesville.com. “They measured his wingspan at Florida at 6-10 ½ with a 32-inch vertical leap. He’s a very unselfish kid and a good leader.”
In many cases when a recruit decommits from a Power 5 program in the fall, it’s because he thinks an offer from a bigger program could be coming. That certainly could be the case with Alexander, who also holds offers from Butler and Virginia Tech, but is likely getting more offers now that his recruitment is back open.
If UK is giving him a look, that’s a good sign that more Power 5 offers are coming soon. 247 Sports ranks him as the 43rd-best prospect, No. 9 shooting guard, and No. 1 prospect from the state of Tennessee. 247 recruiting analyst Andrew Slater logged a crystal ball prediction in favor of UK.
Scout.com ranks Alexander as the 46th-best prospect and the No. 12 point guard. ESPN ranks him 46th overall and the No. 10 point guard. Rivals ranks him 53rd overall.
Expect to hear about UK showing more interest in recruits ranked in the 30s, 40s and 50s in the coming months as they look to fill out 6-8 spots in the 2017 class. Thus far, almost every recruit UK has gotten into great shape with are guys ranked in the 3-25 range.
While it’s nice to think UK could land 6-8 top-25 prospects, it’s just not going to happen. UK will need some four and maybe even three-star guys to fill the class out. Alexander looks like a solid prospect to help fill this class out while giving UK depth at the point and shooting guard spots.