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With travel recruiting completely shut down, coaches are trying to make the most of their virtual visits to recruits and their families. John Calipari is hoping his charm translates during social distancing as he is scheduled to speak to top 2021 big man Paolo Banchero.
Kentucky and Arizona will complete virtual visits tomorrow with five-star junior and arguably one of the top-rated players in the junior class, Paolo Banchero, he told @Stockrisers.
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) April 15, 2020
Had one with Duke last week.
As reported by Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com, Banchero will host both Calipari and Arizona’s Sean Miller on Wednesday. He also reportedly met with Duke last week.
Banchero is ranked as the No. 4 overall player, and the No. 1 power forward, in the 2021 class according to the 247Sports composite rankings. The Washington native has had some buzz about staying home, and despite the Kentucky Wildcats’ struggles in landing and retaining guys from the west coast, Kentucky seems to be right up there with the Huskies in Banchero’s recruitment.
In fact, John Calipari tried to get Banchero to reclassify into 2020 to join this year’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class at Kentucky. This group is one tough frontcourt player away from being special, and Calipari apparently believed Banchero could be that guy.
At 6-9, 235, Banchero has often been compared to PJ Washington. The results are obvious when you look at what Calipari and Kenny Payne did for PJ, and I am sure that is part of their pitch to Banchero and his family.
The big man cut his list to nine back in November, but has made no announcements since. He is still considering Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Duke, Georgetown, Baylor, Washington, Memphis and Gonzaga.
While a decision is anything but imminent, this quarantine could be an important time to gain some ground on the competition.