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The Kentucky Basketball coaching staff has been extremely busy during this recruitment period. Even after adding Lance Ware and Terrence Clarke to the 2020 class, they are not letting up.
Back in July, Kentucky began to target a Canadian player named Karim Mane that was largely off the radar before the summer. According to 247 Sports, however, he is now a five-star player and they rank him as the No. 25 overall player in the 2020 class and continues to rise.
And according to David Sisk, it appears that John Calipari is very close to offering Mane a scholarship.
From @coreyevans_10 tonight. “Kentucky is also starting to recruit Karim Mane and it would come as no surprise if they decided to jump in with an offer.” The 6-5 point from Quebec has many offers & a ton of interest. @KentuckyRivals @RowlandRIVALS @KarimMane_ @Canada_Elite
— David Sisk (@CoachDavidSisk) September 19, 2019
Mane currently holds offers from Texas, Illinois, Maryland, Florida, Arkansas, and Kansas among others. There are currently no predictions logged on his 247 Sports crystal ball, but you would have to think Kentucky would become one of the top contenders if an offer were to be extended.
Here’s the catch, though: Mane is eligible to enter the NBA Draft next year, and skipping college is “definitely a possibility”, he told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony following a big performance at the U19 FIBA World Cup in Greece this summer.
Depending on how serious Mane is about college will probably determine how hard Kentucky recruits him and if an offer ever comes.
As @DraftExpress outlined in our latest U19 scouting reports, Canada guard Karim Mane showed his tremendous talent level in Crete, standing out as arguably the top non-American prospect. Physical specimen @ 6-6 with 3-level scoring and defensive toughness. https://t.co/tmK4IAxASA pic.twitter.com/LdQizfhQJT
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) July 14, 2019
Elsewhere, Kentucky’s staff was in Tennessee on Wednesday to watch 2021 point guard Kennedy Chandler, according to Jason Jordan of USA Today Sports. The Memphis native is currently ranked as the No. 2 point guard in the 2021 class, and he holds offers from Tennessee, Kansas, Memphis, and Alabama.
Many of Calipari’s classes at Kentucky have started with a point guard who would then start recruiting other players to join him in Lexington. The 2020 class is obviously an exception to that, but Chandler would be an excellent piece to begin the 2021 class with.
Calipari has only issued four scholarship offers in that class, and almost all of those guys are candidates for reclassification, so perhaps Chandler is a potential 2020 option at point guard.
This has been an exciting few weeks on the recruiting circuit, and it has been an excellent example of the fact that Kentucky Basketball never stops. I would not be shocked if we see a few more 2020 players commit to Kentucky over the next six weeks.