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Is UK in the lead for N’Faly Dante?

The Cats are hoping to add the talented big man for next season.

Sunrise Christian Academy v IMG Academy Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images

The roster for the 2019-20 Kentucky Wildcats might not be complete just yet, as it’s obvious that John Calipari and his staff would like to add another big to the roster.

That big is N’Faly Dante, and according to Jack Pilgrim in an article on KSR, it appears that Kentucky is in the lead for Dante.

Reports did come out that Dante would not be reclassifying to the 2019 class, but Pilgrim said a decision has not been made.

“While there were initial reports that Dante would not be reclassifying, I was informed almost immediately that this was not true and that a decision on that had not been made. In fact, going into the visit, sources tell KSR that the five-star center was still working toward getting his academics in order to see if a jump to 2019 was possible.”

Dante was on campus for an official visit last week and that visit went really well and now it is believed that Kentucky is the co-favorite with the Oregon Ducks and Kentucky may be in ‘the lead.

“Now, I believe Kentucky and Oregon are the top contenders, with the Cats likely having the slight edge. In fact, I think he’s Kentucky’s to-lose if he is able to reclassify to 2019.”

According to Pilgrim, Dante’s guardian was pushing for him to go to Oregon but has now opened up to the idea of him ending up in Lexington, which is great news for Kentucky.

Saying this, Rivals recruiting analyst Russ Wood recently logged a prediction in favor of Oregon for Dante. Wood is one of the top recruiting guys at Rivals, so while Kentucky may be in a good spot, this is a sign that, if nothing else, Oregon is still a very real threat to landed the talented center.

In addition, 247 Sports Andrew Slater tweeted this out before Dante began his visit to UK:

With Peach Jam coming up, it is a popular belief that he has not announced he will be reclassifying because he wants to be able to play in it next week.

However, some academic issues are still needing to be taken care of before he can make the move to 2019. A lot of things will have to go right in order to get him here this summer, but this recruitment should become a lot clearer in the coming weeks.

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