Kentucky Basketball predictions for 2019 recruiting class by Rivals and 247 Sports

If you’ve been following Kentucky’s recruiting efforts in 2019, you’d know they are firmly in the mix for most of the big-name recruits, but getting even one of them is far from a lock.

That’s evidenced in the latest 2019 recruiting predictions by Rivals.com. There, four of the top basketball recruiting experts made their picks for where guys like Vernon Carey Jr., James Wiseman and Matthew Hurt will end up.

The good news is Kentucky scored picks for Carey, Hurt and even Oscar Tshiebwe, who is now ranked No. 21 overall in 2019.

The bad news is there wasn’t a single recruit that Kentucky got all four experts predicted Kentucky to get. Most of the recruits in this list got predictions for multiple schools.

One recruit that did get four predictions for the same school is James Wiseman. Unfortunately, it was not Kentucky, which further muddies up the water of this recruitment.

Kentucky was thought to be in good shape — and possibly the lead — for Wiseman following his official visit.

While that may be true, the Memphis Tigers are still a major threat to land him, and it’s clear that many experts still view Penny Hardaway and co. as the favorites.

As for Carey, Hurt and Tshiebwe, all three players are expected to make their decisions before Wiseman. Hurt and Tshiebwe will decide sometime this fall, while Carey is planning to decide around February.

Kentucky badly wants to come out of the fall signing period with a big man committed, especially with the possibility they miss on Wiseman, who likely will decide late in the spring.

One name that experts seem to think Kentucky is in good shape for is four-star forward Zeke Nnaji. At 247 Sports, Kentucky has received three-straight predictions for Nnaji, who just scored an offer from John Calipari on Sunday. He too looks like he’ll decide in the fall, so it’s very possibly Kentucky does get a big man locked up in the coming months.

However, 247’s crystal ball does not favor Kentucky with any of its remaining targets. That includes Wiseman (33% of picks), Carey (7%), Aidan Igiehon (33%), Scottie Lewis (11%), Cole Anthony (0%), Keion Brooks (0%) and Tshiebwe (0%).

Speaking of, recruiting ace Evan Daniels is now predicting Scottie Lewis to pick Florida, so it’s looking highly unlikely he ends up a Wildcat.

Needless to say, Kentucky is far from being assured of landing any of its biggest remaining targets in the Class of 2019. The good news is they already have two top-10 commitments in Kahlil Whitney and Tyrese Maxey, not to mention another top-100 recruit in Dontaie Allen.

Even if Kentucky doesn’t land another top-10 recruit, they’re still very likely to finish with a top-three recruiting class, and they’ll hopefully get several players returning from this year’s team.

Be sure to read the full piece for more insight on the top 2019 recruits, including where other Kentucky targets like Keion Brooks, Cole Anthony and Scottie Lewis may end up.

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