Jalen Duren visits Kentucky and will announce top 5 options on Friday

According to On 3 Sports and Tipton Edits, Jalen Duren will announce his top five options on Friday.

As of now, those five options would likely be the Kentucky Wildcats, Miami Hurricanes, Memphis Tigers, NBA G-League, and NBL.

Because players who reclassify can’t play in the Nike Peach Jam, it’s possible Duren waits until after the event to make his choice. The 2021 Nike EYBL will be held from July 13-19 in North Augusta (SC) before the Peach Jam Tournament from July 20-25.

In other words, if you were hoping to see Duren become a Cat this week, don’t get your hopes up.

It’s been a monster couple of weeks of news for college basketball. For Kentucky Wildcats fans — things aren’t slowing down anytime soon.

Just days after the Commonwealth’s Governor, Andy Beshear, announced formal support and mandates related to NCCA players now being eligible for compensation, the Cats are hosting one of the top basketball prospects in the nation.

Jalen Duren is 6-10, 230-pound center with a ceiling about as high as it gets for a player his age. He’s now in Lexington for an official visit as he’s courted by John Calipari and the UK coaching staff.

It’s kind of a prerequisite for any member of the Big Blue Nation to hype up basketball recruits, but this visit truly could have a monumental impact on next season. So there’s no need to throttle your excitement in any fashion for this one.

After winning MVP at the Pangos All-American camp, it was reported that Duren will reclassify into the Class of 2021, making him eligible to join a roster next season.

Previously, it had been the consensus from most insiders that regardless of what class he was in, Duren would ultimately forgo any college eligibility electing to get paid immediately via the G-League.

After his reclassification, rumors begin swirling that the decision was far from made and that Duren was genuinely entertaining the idea of playing NCAA basketball next year.

Insert John Calipari and the Wildcats.

At this stage it appears to be a four-horse race between the G-League, Memphis, Miami and Kentucky with the pending NIL decisions being a possible differentiator.

Getting a five-star prospect like Jalen Duren on campus in Lexington on the heels of Beshear’s NIL announcement is a tremendous win for Kentucky.

You can expect John Calipari to have a well thought out presentation for the Duren family detailing exactly how he can maximize his exposure and wallet by coming to Lexington.

That being said, it’s being reported that the G-League Select team has offered Duren a contract worth at least $1 million. A jaw-dropping number that will be hard to walk away from, but if anybody can sway him, it’s John Calipari.

Impressive physical maturity makes Jalen Duren somewhat of a unicorn, so it doesn’t really matter how he “fits” in on a roster. He’s a player that you welcome to your program with open arms regardless of roster make up.

Although still a work in progress offensively there’s just no denying his ability to impact a college game.

Everyone will be on pins and needles waiting to hear about how the visit goes, so follow A Sea of Blue for updates.