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The Kentucky Wildcats are still in the hunt for James Wiseman, as expected.
While this is widely viewed as a UK-Memphis battle, Wiseman has been admant that other schools are still in the running. He’s doing that again by announcing his list of eight schools in consideration:
I am truly blessed to finally announce my final top 8 schools...@hoopmajorhm pic.twitter.com/TYXwkmPXEE
— James Wiseman (@BigTicket_JW) July 28, 2018
The list includes the Arizona Wildcats, Florida State Seminoles, Kansas Jayhawks, Memphis Tigers, North Carolina Tar Heels, Texas Longhorns and Vanderbilt Commodores.
But again, this is almost certainly going to end up being UK vs Memphis for arguably the best player in 2019.
In an interview with Prep Circuit, Wiseman opened up about John Calipari and UK’s pitch.
“Coach Calipari helps a lot of NBA players that have went through their program. Anthony Davis is my favorite NBA player and he went there,” said Wiseman. “Then you have DeMarcus Cousins and a lot more great players who play in the league today. I think Coach Calipari has great connections such as getting his players to the NBA. I have a very strong relationship with Coach Calipari.”
UK had pegged the favorite for Wiseman, the No. 1 overall recruit in 2019 by 247 Sports, until Memphis hired Penny Hardaway becoming the Tigers’ head coach. Memphis has been the school to receive 12 straight predictions in the 247 Sports Crystal Ball, so there’s certainly a real chance he picks the Tigers.
Now, rumors have emerged Wiseman could move into the Class of 2018 and be on campus next season. For now, they look like nothing more than rumors, which is good news for UK since it’s unlikely he’d end up there as a Class of 2018 recruit.
I would venture to guess Wiseman will take this recruitment into the spring if he’s really going to consider and visit all of these schools — officially or unofficially.
Here are some recent highlights of Wiseman in action:
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