Recruiting expert predicts Kentucky to land Devin Askew

Coming into the fall, it looked like Kentucky had a real shot at a dynamic backcourt duo of Jalen Green and Joshua Christopher.

Now, it seems like that dream is on life support, but John Calipari may have an ace up his sleeve for his 2020-21 backcourt.

By now, you know all about Terrence Clarke, who is widely expected to pick Kentucky next week. But as good as Clarke is, Kentucky needs to add at least one more high-level guard, and it may come in the form of another 2021 reclassification.

Devin Askew is one of the best players in 2021, ranking 15th overall at 247 Sports composite and second among combo guards. Rivals and ESPN classify him as a point guard, which is what he’s expected to play in college.

Askew has been mentioned as a reclass candidate, even though he’s briefly shot that down, but he made the comments before Kentucky offered him a scholarship. Anyone who follows recruiting knows that, in most cases, five-star recruits who can reclassify end up doing so at some point.

To this point, it’s been the Louisville Cardinals who’ve been viewed as the favorites, but that may be changing.

Rivals recruiting expert Corey Evans just logged a prediction for Kentucky to land Askew. He previously had picked Louisville.

Evans is one of the best in the business, so seeing him make a Kentucky prediction bodes well for the Cats’ chances to snag the 6-3 guard from national powerhouse Mater Dei (CA).

For what it’s worth, Louisville has gained a lot of traction with Deivon Smith, one of the top 2020 point guards. Just today, Louisville has gotten predictions from Evans, Jerry Meyer and Evan Daniels, so it appears the Cardinals are close to landing the guard 247 Sports compares to former Auburn star Jared Harper.

Maybe it’s a coincidence this is all happening on the same day, but regardless, it appears Kentucky has a very real shot at landing Askew. Evans is also predicting the Cardinals to land 2020 guards DJ Steward and Caleb Love, so that backcourt could be filling up in a hurry.

Earlier this week, Evans spoke with the Herald-Leader about Askew, who may be the best point guard recruit in high school basketball.

“He is arguably the best ‘college’ point guard in high school basketball right now, in my mind, regardless of classification,” he said. “He has to become a better athlete and more explosive, but he’s a legitimate 6-foot-3 with a 6-7 wingspan at the point guard spot. He’s strong, he’s super mature. He’s all about the team. He can make shots. He can play-make. He can defend. He’s fiery. There really isn’t much that he’s missing on.

“He’s practically the entire package at the point guard spot.”

Seeing as how Askew has quieted the reclass talk for the time being, it’s unclear when he could make a college decision or rethink which class he wants to be part of. But whatever class Askew is in, Kentucky is clearly going to be a major player in his recruitment.

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