Kentucky Basketball Recruiting: UK trending for Kahlil Whitney, who John Calipari “loves”

Things continue to move in a positive direction for Kentucky and Kahlil Whitney.

The five-star wing just scored an offer from John Calipari, who has been courtside for most of Whitney’s games in recent weeks. Since Kentucky offered last week, they’ve picked up three-straight predictions in the 247 Sports Crystal Ball, including one from recruiting gurus Jerry Meyer and Andrew Slater.

Adam Zagoria adds that Calipari “loves” Whitney, who has had a breakout summer and is likely due for a bump in the recruiting rankings. He’s currently ranked 23rd overall by Rivals and 14th by both ESPN and 247 Sports.

When you watch Whitney, it’s easy to see why Calipari is falling in love with the Roselle Catholic (NJ) product. He has great athleticism and a motor to go with it that makes him tough to handle on both ends of the court. He’s also a solid shooter that defenses have to respect on the perimeter, making him very dangerous on offense, which is how he’s really been standing out this summer.

The 6-6 wing also holds offers from the Virginia Cavaliers, Oregon Ducks, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Louisville Cardinals, Florida Gators, LSU Tigers and Kansas Jayhawks. The Duke Blue Devils have also shown a lot of interest recently.

What’s going to be interesting in this recruitment is what it means for Kentucky’s other wing targets in 2019, namely Keion Brooks. Kentucky was thought to be in great shape for Brooks, but the Indiana Hoosiers have gotten more buzz lately.

Scottie Lewis is another five-star wing Kentucky is strongly in the mix for and will get a visit from in September.

Then you’ve got Dontaie Allen, who is set to visit Kentucky next week and could score a scholarship offer.

If Kentucky were to land Whitney, you’d have to think it means they won’t land 1-2 of Lewis, Brooks and Allen.

Regardless, Whitney looks like a great player who Kentucky should be going hard after, and it sounds like they’ve already put themselves in great position to land the talented wing.

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