Kevin Knox recruiting: Elite wing sets decision date window

The recruitment of Kevin Knox is hitting the home stretch, and it appears the five-star forward will make his college choice in the coming weeks.

In an interview with USA Basketball, Knox revealed that he’s tentatively set a window for a decision between April 10-16, the week after the Final Four.

“It’s really hard getting to the point of where you’re down to four or five schools. It’s tough. It’s been a rocky road at times in this process, but I’m glad I’m down to four schools I really like,” Knox explained, and he is expected to make his decision between April 10-16.

“The process is real long, and it is hard. There’s so many text messages and phone calls. After you narrow things down, it gets better, because you’re talking to the coaches you really want to talk to. The process has been fun though, and I’ve enjoyed it.”

Knox is playing it smart by waiting until at least one week after the Final Four concludes. There’s a decent chance that one of his remaining schools makes it to Phoenix before their season ends and NBA decisions are made.

North Carolina has been getting a lot of the buzz recently, but their chances could hinge on whether Justin Jackson goes pro or returns. His role is exactly what Knox is expected to take on in college, so if Jackson returns, that would probably hurt their chances.

Kentucky is also still in the running for Knox, and they sure could use Knox with as many as eight players leaving this offseason. Wenyen Gabriel could return and take the wing spot next season since he’s not working out at the 4 as he’s been used this season. But even if Gabriel tries his hand at the pros, Kentucky has P.J. Washington, Jarred Vanderbilt and possibly Mohamed Bamba coming in to fight for those 3/4 spots.

But Duke is the school that probably needs Knox the most with Jayson Tatum leaving for the NBA, and both Grayson Allen and Luke Kennard could follow. It’s still early in the NBA Draft process, but Duke is looking more and more like the school where Knox could have the biggest role at next season if all of those guys leave.