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Back in the summer, the 2020 recruiting class was shaping up to include three of the top guards in the country.
Jalen Green, Daishen Nix and Josh Christopher were those three guards. However, a few months later, that had all changed and none of them were being recruited by Kentucky anymore.
Instead, Kentucky landed top 2021 guards Terrence Clarke and Devin Askew. Both also reclassified to the 2020 class.
So, what happened with the original three?
Jack Pilgrim of Kentucky Sports Radio reported that Christopher’s situation was more of a “fit” issue.
“Sources told KSR after the breakup this fall that Kentucky was intrigued with the idea of Green and Christopher playing together in the same backcourt, but didn’t know how he’d fit in if the former went elsewhere. When they parted ways with one, they essentially parted ways with both.”
However, Christopher hasn’t said this publicly but has said that he is no longer being recruited by Kentucky.
The other two, however, have recently commented about what happened.
This weekend was the Marshall County HoopFest and both Green and Nix participated in the event.
Larry Vaught of VaughtsViews.com was able to interview Green about that relationship with Kentucky and what happened. Green noted that him going to Kentucky was “supposed to happen.”
“It was supposed to happen but me and Kentucky parted ways,” Green said. “They are no longer in the running. My college offers are still open. I still don’t know what I want to do. It’s very stressful. Big decision for me. Biggest decision I have ever made but Kentucky no longer is recruiting me”
There was some talk that Green was considering going overseas instead of going to college. So, that could’ve played a role in Cal backing out of the recruitment because he didn’t want to go all in on Green, miss out of Clarke, then Green end up overseas.
Vaught also interviewed Nix while at the HoopFest to see what happened with him and Kentucky that led to him signing with the UCLA Bruins.
“Kentucky was my second pick. It was Kentucky or UCLA pretty much the whole time,” Nix said. “My family is mostly on the west coast. Just easier for them to drive to UCLA or it is an hour flight”
Although Nix did note that he had only talked to Cal “once or twice” and that Cal mostly talked with his coach Greg Lockridge.
Lockridge told Vaught that the “connection was just not there” between Kentucky and Nix. But also, that it didn’t seem like Cal recruited Nix as hard as he did others.
Despite Cal missing out on these recruits, he still landed some elite talent in Clarke, Askew and BJ Boston allowing Kentucky to still have a firm hold on the #1 recruiting class for 2020.