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UPDATE 2
It looks like the Arkansas Razorbacks are jumping in the mix as well for Kerry Blackshear, according to Jeff Goodman.
Another school involved in the Kerry Blackshear recruitment is Arkansas, sources told @Stadium. Blackshear visited Florida today, Texas A&M and Kentucky in the mix. Gonzaga and Tennessee also trying, per sources.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 6, 2019
I still think this comes down to Kentucky vs. Florida, but seeing more schools jump in the mix could indicate this recruitment will drag on for several more weeks.
UPDATE
Corey Evans is now reporting that Florida will host Kerry Blackshear tomorrow. It will be his first reported visit.
Hopefully, Blackshear makes it out without committing, giving Kentucky a chance to host him and make their pitch for the grad transfer.
With the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline passing, we have a good idea of what the 2019-20 Kentucky Basketball team will look like.
However, there are still some game-changing players that could still join the roster, namely Kerry Blackshear Jr.
After being widely expected to remain in the draft, Blackshear opted to return to school in hopes of getting a master’s degree, as well as boosting his NBA stock further in hopes of being a draft pick in 2020.
While there’s a chance Blackshear remains with the Virginia Tech Hokies, the belief is Blackshear will ultimately join the Florida Gators, Texas A&M Aggies or Kentucky Wildcats.
There was some belief that Blackshear could still end up playing overseas, but Rivals analyst Corey Evans thinks that’s off the table. Evans also gave an update on the timeframe for Blackshear taking visits and making a final decision, as well as the schools in the running for the highly-touted grad transfer.
First-year Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young would love to have him back, but that might be difficult. Instead, Florida, Kentucky and Texas A&M have the best shot. Michigan State is also a dark horse, and while visits have yet to be set look for Blackshear to schedule two or three official visits to be taken in the coming weeks and a decision to be made shortly thereafter.
Personally, I think Michigan State is a more viable option than Florida or Texas A&M. The Spartans have a legitimate title contender that’s already the No. 1 team in several preseason polls. But after losing Nick Ward to the draft, they could use one more big man for next season.
That’s basically the situation for Kentucky, who has also gotten preseason No. 1 love, but adding one more big man is very ideal since Nate Sestina, EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards are the team’s only legitimate bigs.
While it’s been over a week since Blackshear withdrew from the draft, it doesn’t look like we’re close to a decision being made. And that’s not even accounting for other schools potentially jumping into the mix.