Kentucky Basketball Recruiting: Clemson still the team to beat for Zion Williamson

The new year has arrived, and with it may soon come a decision from Zion Williamson.

The five-star forward is looking to make a decision in the near future. While a host of schools are still technically alive in this recruitment, the two main contenders appear to be the Clemson Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats.

Much of the recent buzz has been centered around Clemson for the South Carolina native, and it appears things haven’t changed in the new year.

Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader reports that, “local option Clemson is the team to beat heading into the new year.”

That makes the most sense if Zion is really set to decide in the coming weeks. UK, has so many players that could leave for the NBA Draft or return to school and take up a lot of minutes and shots next season.

Everyone assumes Kevin Knox and Hamidou Diallo are leaving for the draft, but UK could still return Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Quade Green, PJ Washington, Jarred Vanderbilt, Wenyen Gabriel, Sacha Killeya-Jones, and Nick Richards, all while adding Tyler Herro, Immanuel Quickley and Keldon Johnson via the 2018 class.

That’s a lot of mouths to feed, and that’s not even accounting for the potential reclassification of James Wiseman into 2018. That has the potential to be the deepest team in college basketball next season, making for a crowded situation where it’s harder for Zion to be the alpha dog.

That’s why it doesn’t feel like good news if Zion, does in fact, make a decision before the spring.

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