With this season unfortunately now wrapped up, Kentucky will now have to look ahead to teams in the future. Although recruiting has been affected by the Coronavirus as well, there’s still a lot of work to be done to add players for next year and in years to come.
In an article for the Lexington Herald Leader, Ben Roberts highlights multiple players who could be next in line to join the Wildcat family. One of those players is Jonathan Kuminga, the #1 player in the 2021 class.
Kuminga is a highly skilled small forward out of The Patrick School in New Jersey who has been linked with Kentucky for some time now. If he were to stay in 2021, the Wildcats would be a big player in his recruitment. The problem is, though, that it is believed Kuminga is a likely candidate to either reclassify or skip college entirely.
“Kentucky has continued to be mentioned prominently in Kuminga’s recruitment — and the Cats would likely be even more serious players in the unlikely event he sticks in 2021 — but the general vibe among recruiting experts is he’d end up elsewhere if he plays college ball next season. Auburn, Louisiana State and Texas Tech — where Kuminga’s brother recently transferred — are all considered more likely landing spots, and Georgia hosted him for a recruiting visit recently. There is also the possibility that Kuminga doesn’t play college basketball at all — either this coming season or next — before beginning a professional career,” said Roberts.
With his potential, Kuminga has so many opportunities available to him that it’ll be difficult to get a hold of him. He could easily reclassify and play college ball next year, stay in his class and go the traditional route or skip college altogether and play professional ball and succeed in any way he chooses.
It seems like the longer Kuminga’s recruitment plays out, the better chance Kentucky will have to get him. He’s a highly touted recruit and the other nine schools still involved with him are all serious competition on the recruiting front. John Calipari is as good as any recruiter in the country, though, and he will be in it to the end if Kuminga prolongs his recruitment.