One of the Kentucky Wildcats' top targets in 2017 is five-star forward Jarred Vanderbilt.
In a class loaded with talented forwards, Vanderbilt is among the best of them, and UK is among his top suitors. Back in May, CBS reported that Vanderbilt was "a strong Kentucky lean," and there hasn't been anything to suggest that has changed.
According to EPSN, Vanderbilt has cut his list of schools in consideration with Cats making it. He's since confirmed the news via his Twitter page, which shows UK among nine schools still in contention.
I would like to thank every school who has ever recruited me. After deep evaluations, these are my final 9 schools‼️ pic.twitter.com/gb5CwVD3z2
— Jarred Vanderbilt (@JVando_) July 22, 2016
Vanderbilt has not only been one of UK's top targets in this class, but one of the likeliest commitments for them as well. Seeing UK make his list of nine is no surprise after he told the Courier-Journal the Cats would be on his next list.
"They’re definitely in my top-10 discussion," Vanderbilt said. "They’ve always been recruiting pretty hard. They’re in the mix."
A broken bone in his left foot that has kept him out of USA Basketball and July recruiting showcases. He still showed up this week to root on his Houston Hoops teammates in the Las Vegas Classic while wearing a boot. John Calipari has been in Vegas this week, so perhaps they saw each other.
With the summer recruiting period winding down, UK is still in good shape, but the home state Longhorns have made up a lot of ground, and they're now in second place in Vanderbilt's 247 Crystal Ball.
As for this fall, Vanderbilt said earlier in July he'd like to take all of his official visits then and possibly make a decision during the November signing period, but that's not set in stone.
"It all depends on when I schedule my visits," Vanderbilt said. "If I have all my visits down by the fall, by November, it could possibly be a decision around that time. If not, there’s no rush right now."
As of now, I still have Vanderbilt as one of the five likeliest recruits to be part of UK's 2017 class, which figures to have at least six signees and maybe even eight. Depending on who those guys end up being, there's a good chance Vanderbilt would be one of, if not the best of them.
That's how much talent and potential Vanderbilt has, so look for Calipari to keep the full-court press on him.