UK Basketball coaches to visit Aidan Igiehon

Though basketball season is right around the corner, that hasn’t kept Kentucky basketball head coach John Calipari from being the best recruiter in the country. After adding Khalil Whitney and Tyrese Maxey, Calipari is now taking a strong look at 4-star center Aidan Igiehon.

Igiehon, playing for Lawrence Woodmere Academy in Woodmere, NY, is expecting a visit from Tony Barbee and potentially Calipari on September 10th, according to Adam Zagoria. Igiehon’s team is set to play Team Rio on that date.

According to 247Sports, the 4-star center is the best player in his state and the ninth center in the country while ranked 33rd overall. ESPN’s recruiting page has Igiehon as the sixth best player in the state of New York, eighth at his position nationally and 36th in their Top-100 of 2019.

With Kentucky’s momentum for Igiehon on the rise, it wouldn’t be a surprise for Calipari to indeed make the trip to watch the young recruit.

According to Jeff Weiss, the head coach of Lawrence Woodmere, Barbee said “we’re going to be there.”

With Igiehon shrinking his list to just Kentucky, Louisville, Oregon and St. John’s, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Kentucky offer during or shortly after.

Weiss, coaching Igiehon for four years, said he expects Calipari to offer either during their trip to the game or during Igiehon’s visit to Kentucky.

With Igiehon’s dreams of the NBA, Kentucky is certainly the place for him to choose. As it turns out, the young star has already acknowledged Calipari’s success of grooming players for the NBA.

“CoachBarbee has told me that they want to get me to the next level. They think that if I’m willing to do what it takes, Kentucky is the best place for me. It’s a great fit for me and they have a great track record with big men. I’m trying to go the NBA and they think it would be a great fit if I were to commit there,” he said when talking with Pat Lawless.

With their recent history and lack of a solid reputation, Louisville is probably not going to beat Kentucky for a recruit if Calipari really wants him. Oregon is enticing but is all the way across the country. St. John’s could be Kentucky’s biggest competition due to their Under Armour ties, though it’s also hard to see them beating Calipari for a recruit.

In other words, this feels like recruitment Kentucky is going to win if they truly want Igiehon to be part of this class.