2022 forward Sadraque Nganga talks NBA and Kentucky interest

The Kentucky Wildcats are always going to be set up very well in recruiting. We have seen it from the day Coach Cal arrived and we will see it until his era at UK is over.

With that being said, the 2022 class could be the first to see the one-and-done rule go away, which means more of the top player will start skipping college and go straight to the NBA Draft.

A member of that class that could be on his way straight to the league is Sadraque Nganga, a 6-9 power forward from Compass Prep in Arizona.

Nganga is currently ranked as the No. 15 overall player in the class and is the No. 3 overall power forward.

Adam Zagoria did a phone interview with Nganga who said that if the one-and-done rule does go away then he will be going to the NBA.

“If that happens, I’m going to the league.”

A 2022 mock draft currently has Nganga being the No. 15 overall pick which is the first pick not considered the lottery with comparisons of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Michael Beasley. However, Nganga sees himself more as a student of Kevin Durant.

As of right now, the one-and-done rule isn’t going away so Nganga is still being recruited by colleges. He recently picked up an offer from Kansas which adds them to his offer list consisting of Arizona, Arizona State, and others.

Zagoria talked to Patricio Muandumba, who is one of Nganga’s guardians in the U.S and he noted that Kentucky how now contacted them but have yet to officially offer him.

“They really like him, they really like his game,” he said. “They just want to stay in touch.”

Nganga added, “I like Kentucky, but I’m still looking for schools.”

In the interview, Nganga said that he doesn’t speak directly with college coaches and is just focused on his game and school right now. He hasn’t even thought about a potential college list.

“For now, I’m just focusing on school,” he said. As for a potential college list, he said, “I don’t know right now.”

Despite being a power forward now, Nganga’s natural position has always been point guard according to Muandumba.

“For him, when he first started playing as a kid in Angola, he used to play point guard,” he said. “Even when he first moved to the U.S., he would play point guard. That’s his natural position.”

As for Muandumba’s opinion on Nganga jumping straight to the NBA, he said it “all depends on how he develops over the next two years because it wouldn’t be ideal for him to make that jump just for the sake of doing it if he’s not ready for it.”

As for Kentucky’s interest, it appears that they are indeed interested in getting Nganga to Lexington and the Cats have even picked up a 247 Sports Crystal Ball prediction to land him if he ends up going to college.

As Nganga noted, he doesn’t really have a college list yet but I would fully expect coach Cal and his staff to be heavily involved in the recruiting process over the next two years in hopes of getting the five-star forward to Lexington.

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