Several Kentucky recruit will be in NBPA Top 100 Camp

In the midst of the final high school players committing to colleges and the climax of the NBA season, we are on the verge of the biggest basketball lull of the year.

While there is always recruiting news and speculation, it can also be fun just to look at the future stars of college basketball and see how they develop.

The National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) released the rosters for its annual Top 100 Camp this week. The camp will take place from June 11-16 at the University of Virginia.

From the NBPA website, “The Top 100 High School Basketball Camp is regarded as the premier basketball event available to elite high school athletes. Since its inception in 1994, over 300 players have gone on to successful careers in the NBA. Top 100 Camp emphasizes character, education and skill development as the core principles necessary to maximize a player’s potential.“

Several Kentucky targets for the 2020 and 2021 classes have made the cut, as they’ll be able to both develop and showcase their skills in front of many current and former professional players.

2020 Recruits

While Kentucky has yet to solidify a 2020 player at this point, there is speculation that one of a few guys in that class could reclassify to 2019. Regardless, John Calipari and his staff are now primarily focused on this group and trying to get the top players to Lexington.

Below are the 2020 players at the NBPA Top 100 camp that John Calipari is going after, in addition to their class ranks according to the 247 Sports composite rankings.

• Brandon Boston, Jr. - No. 8 Overall, No. 3 Shooting Guard, No. 1 in Georgia
• Jaemyn Brakefield - No. 26 Overall, No. 4 Power Forward, No. 1 in West Virginia
• Jalen Johnson - No. 3 Overall, No. 1 Small Forward, No. 1 in Wisconsin
• Makur Makur - No. 67 Overall, No. 12 Center, No. 10 in California
• Clifford Omoruyi - No. 57 Overall, No. 10 Center, No. 2 in New Jersey
• Kyree Walker - No. 17 Overall, No. 4 Small Forward, No. 1 in Arizona
• Dawson Garcia - No. 24 Overall, No. 4 Power Forward, No. 2 in Minnesota

2021 Recruits

There are a lot of guys on Kentucky’s 2021 recruiting list, while only two (Terrence Clarke and Jonathan Kuminga) that hold scholarship offers. Calipari and company are still trying to narrow their focus for the high school junior class, and perhaps the Top 100 camp will give some of these players a chance to prove themselves. In the meantime, here are the 2021 players that we know have Kentucky’s attention.

• Terrence Clarke - No. 2 Overall, No. 1 Shooting Guard, No. 1 in New Hampshire
• Jonathan Kuminga - No. 3 Overall, No. 2 Small Forward, No. 1 in New York.
• J.T. Thor - No. 13 Overall, No. 5 Power Forward, No. 1 in West Virginia

The camp prides itself on helping young players develop and understand what it means to be a part of the NBA community. While we do not know the exact NBA players helping out with the camp, given the saturation of former Wildcats in the league you would have to think Kentucky will be well represented by its alumni. Perhaps some of them can serve as the eyes and ears of John Calipari at the camp, and maybe they can even make a pitch or two to the top guys.