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The Kentucky Wildcats are once again well positioned for a monster recruiting haul when the 2017 class is finished.
John Calipari has UK in good shape for many of the best players 2017 has to offer. Among them is five-star center DeAndre Ayton, who took home the No. 1 overall ranking in the updated Rivals.com rankings for next year.
UK is also in pursuit of No. 3 overall recruit Wendell Carter Jr., who some regard as the best player in next year's class. He and fellow five-star forward Mohamed Bamba, who comes in at No 4, are both being heavily recruited by Kentucky and Duke in what is one of the biggest recruiting battles to watch for in 2017.
The biggest riser in the new rankings is five-star point guard Quade Green, who moved from No. 50 to No. 25. He recently got an offer from Duke, and he'll be visiting UK this week in hopes of scoring an offer from UK as well.
But while Green is a great point guard, Trae Young is the guy Calipari really wants to be his next floor general. He's up to No. 14 in the newest rankings, and we should probably expect to see him make one more jump before the final 2017 rankings are set.
Other notable UK targets in the newest rankings include Kevin Knox (6th), Hamidou Diallo (7th), Jarred Vanderbilt (13th), Gary Trent (16th), P.J. Washington (19th), Nick Richards (21st), Lonnie Walker (26th), John Petty (28th) and Tremont Waters (39th).
As of now, Richards, Petty, Diallo and Young are the likeliest players to commit to UK, but that could change as the summer recruiting circuit rolls on. Here's a look at the new Rivals.com top 30:
# |
Name |
Pos |
Location |
Ht |
Wt |
1 |
DeAndre Ayton |
C |
Phoenix, AZ |
7'0" |
250 |
2 |
Michael Porter |
F |
Columbia, MO |
6'8" |
190 |
3 |
Wendell Carter |
F |
Atlanta, GA |
6'10" |
246 |
4 |
Mohamed Bamba |
F |
Westtown, PA |
6'11" |
205 |
5 |
Trevon Duval |
G |
Dallas, TX |
6'2" |
189 |
6 |
Kevin Knox |
F |
Tampa, FL |
6'8" |
197 |
7 |
Hamidou Diallo |
G |
Putnam, CT |
6'4" |
180 |
8 |
Billy Preston |
F |
Mouth of Wilson, VA |
6'9" |
220 |
9 |
Brandon McCoy |
C |
San Diego, CA |
6'11" |
220 |
10 |
Troy Brown |
G |
Las Vegas, NV |
6'6" |
195 |
11 |
Mitchell Robinson |
C |
Chalmette, LA |
7'0" |
220 |
12 |
Collin Sexton |
G |
Mableton, GA |
6'1" |
170 |
13 |
Jarred Vanderbilt |
F |
Houston, TX |
6'8" |
200 |
14 |
Trae Young |
G |
Norman, OK |
6'1" |
170 |
15 |
Austin Wiley |
C |
Birmingham, AL |
6'10" |
240 |
16 |
Gary Trent Jr. |
G |
Apple Valley, MN |
6'4" |
180 |
17 |
Kris Wilkes |
F |
Indianapolis, IN |
6'7" |
185 |
18 |
Brian Bowen |
F |
La Porte, IN |
6'6" |
175 |
19 |
P.J. Washington |
F |
Henderson, NV |
6'7" |
200 |
20 |
Jaren Jackson |
F |
Indianapolis, IN |
6'9" |
215 |
21 |
Nicholas Richards |
C |
Elizabeth, NJ |
6'10" |
225 |
22 |
Jaylen Hands |
G |
San Diego, CA |
6'1" |
160 |
23 |
M.J. Walker |
G |
Jonesboro, GA |
6'4" |
200 |
24 |
Jeremiah Tilmon |
C |
La Porte, IN |
6'10" |
235 |
25 |
Quade Green |
G |
Philadelphia, PA |
5'11" |
155 |
26 |
Lonnie Walker |
G |
Reading, PA |
6'4" |
180 |
27 |
Jalek Felton |
G |
Mullins, SC |
6'3" |
170 |
28 |
John Petty |
G |
Huntsville, AL |
6'5" |
180 |
29 |
Cody Riley |
F |
Chatsworth, CA |
6'7" |
225 |
30 |
Charles O'Bannon Jr. |
G |
Las Vegas, NV |
6'6" |
200 |