Update on the teams in the mix for Kerry Blackshear

Now that we have established that the Kentucky Wildcats are recruiting Kerry Blackshear and John Calipari has paid his family a visit, we can now focus on his overall recruitment and who else may be involved.

Calipari is often the favorite in any recruiting battle he enters, but this one certainly contains some strong competition.

According to Corey Evans of Rivals.com, Blackshear’s recruitment could go a lot of different ways. He announced his interest in transferring just after his head coach, Buzz Williams, became the new head coach at Texas A&M. Williams has already paid the Blackshear family a message, and it is very logical to think Blackshear could follow his old coach and suit up for the Aggies.

Another consideration is geography. Evans says there is talk out there that Blackshear may want to play closer to home. That could give the Florida Gators an advantage, if true.

The other group of suitors are really outliers. Although there are some obvious choices Blackshear could make, Evans says “there are some dark horses in the race as Gonzaga, Michigan State and Tennessee are three to keep an eye on.”

Of course, Kentucky has a strong sales pitch as well. With the solid back court and talented depth on the wings, adding Blackshear could immediately make the Wildcats a title favorite for next season. If winning is the priority, playing in Lexington would be the obvious choice. That’s not even to mention the NBA preparation he could receive from John Calipari and his staff.

What about Blackshear’s timeline?

“Do not expect a college commitment any time soon,” Evans wrote. “Blackshear’s focus will be on the NBA and with the deadline to pull his name out of the draft not until June 10, a college commitment should not be expected until late May, at the earliest.”

Now we wait...

Read all of Evans’ comments on Blackshear’s recruitment, among other things, here.