Kentucky Wildcats trending for Mohamed Bamba

Make no mistake about it: For the Kentucky Wildcats to have another elite recruiting class, Mohamed Bamba must be part of it.

With DeAndre Ayton, Michael Porter Jr. and Mitchell Robinson off the board while Wendell Carter Jr. looks Duke bound, Bamba is the one truly elite 2017 prospect that UK is in good position with.

Ever since John Calipari made Bamba a priority in 2017 while comparing the 6-11 center to Anthony Davis, UK has slowly made progress in his recruitment.

Now, some experts think UK is in the lead and/or will end up winning out in this recruitment. Over at Rivals.com, three of their four recruiting gurus picked UK for Bamba’s college destination.

At 247 Sports, six of the last seven Crystal Ball picks for Bamba have gone to UK. All of this also comes after Bamba was one of the first players that Calipari met with last Friday, the start of the fall recruiting period in which coaches can meet with prospects.

We’re still a ways away from Bamba making a decision, as the five-star big man is planning a spring commitment. That’s smart, given UK and Duke could both have varying situations at center next year.

Duke could have Marques Bolden and Chase Jeter back while adding Carter, which makes that a less-than-ideal situation for any big man to join.

But UK could have Isaac Humphries, Sacha Killeya-Jones, and could add Nick Richards to their 2017 class. That’s why we should not expect a decision from Bamba anytime soon, but it certainly looks good for UK at this point.