Zeke Nnaji trims list and Kentucky misses cut

Zeke Nnaji has announced his final five, and it does not include the Kentucky Wildcats.

Nnaji is 6-10, 215-pound power forward that is ranked in the #30 range by most of the recruiting services. His four-star status could very well be upgraded by the time the final rankings are completed next year.

Kentucky recently offered Nnaji a scholarship, and he was expected to visit Lexington at some point. But for whatever reason, Kentucky is no longer in the mix.

Nnaji was barely a three-star recruit before the spring AAU session and rapidly became a top-30 player who even received an U17 National Team Trials invitation.

Nnaji is a big kid that is probably not near done growing yet. He does have a wide frame but could stand to put a few more pounds of muscle on before college. Nnaji is a very fundamentally skilled player who can score in a variety of ways, along with being able to handle the ball. He has nice touch and can shoot the ball well considering he is 6’10.

Zeke isn’t the only one in the Nnaji family that has game, his sister Maya, was offered a scholarship at the University of Arizona. You would have to assume that the sibling connection will play a role in decision making process for the family.

Nnaji is another prime example in the class of 2019 where a player has seen his rankings trend upwards in dramatic fashion during the spring/summer evaluation period. Although, It may have been a bit easier for Nnaji than others to get exposure because he is teammate with five-star power forward Matthew Hurt.

Both Hurt and Nnaji live in Minnesota and played for the same AAU program, however, they do attend different high schools. Matthew Hurt is still believed to be one the very best players in the country. Thus, the recruitment of both players could become very impactful to the make up of next season’s roster.

Interesting fact: Basketball is not the only thing that Nnaji excels at, he is reported to be a fantastic pianist who loves classic and jazz piano. You don’t see a lot of 6’10 piano players, I like that Nnaji has interests outside of basketball. It seems that he will be a very well rounded student athlete.

With Kentucky out of the mix for Nnaji, it will be interesting to see what this means for their chances of landing Hurt.