Nico Mannion commits to Arizona

Nico Mannion is a 5-star point guard from the 2019 class that the Kentucky Wildcats had recently tried to get in the mix for.

However, Mannion cut Kentucky from consideration last month, and now, he’s announced his pledge to the Arizona Wildcats on Friday.

The high-flying 6-2 guard has been one of the biggest risers during the summer basketball season, and he’s now ranked as high as No. 9 at 247 Sports. He’s also No. 11 a ESPN’s high school recruiting rankings.

Kentucky tried to jump into the mix, but they were unable to make any inroads with him. Mannion’s final four schools included Duke, Villanova, Arizona, and Marquette, but he recently cut Villanova and Duke.

The Phoenix native was always viewed as a heavy leany toward the big-name school that was closest to home, so it’s no surprise to see him finally announce for the Pac-12 Wildcats.

Kentucky remains in good positioning for several other recruits in the 2019 class and still has the commitment of point guard Tyrese Maxey. They are in the mix for Cole Anthony, though it remains to be seen how big of a player they are in that recruitment.

There was also Jalen Lecque, who earned an offer from Kentucky in the spring, but he struggled in the summer so much that Kentucky has shown virtually no interest in recent months, which led to the Wildcats being cut from his most recent list.

For now, it looks like there’s a good chance Maxey is the only guard capable of playing the point that Kentucky gets in 2019.