Sunday Headlines: UK Recruiting Slipping in the SEC (?) Edition

ESPN debates whether Kentucky is slipping in the SEC

By Zac Oakes@ZacOakes Jun 6, 2021, 6:40am EDT

NCAA Basketball: South Carolina at Kentucky

Is Kentucky’s recruiting slipping in the SEC?

That was a topic of discussion among an ESPN panels in a recent article on ESPN.com which you can find here (behind a paywall).

Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello, John Gasaway and Joe Lunardi went back and forth on Kentucky’s struggles last year and whether or not last season’s struggles were a sign of things to come or a rare occurrence.

Lunardi pointed to COVID restrictions, lack of fans in the arenas, and more as the reason for Kentucky’s struggles.

“For me, it wasn’t a coincidence that Kentucky and Duke — arguably the most notable “one-and-done” programs in the country — missed the NCAA tournament last season,” Lunardi wrote. “It’s also no coincidence that many of the most veteran-laden, “together” teams — we’re looking at you, Gonzaga and Baylor — were among the last ones standing. I’m not denying any of the reasoning of my esteemed colleagues going forward, but last season’s results seem fairly easy to explain.”

But others pointed to the changes in the recruiting landscape, namely the fact that there are more options for top-tier prospects and those prospects are spreading out over more schools.

It’s probably a combination of the two, but there’s no doubt the recruiting landscape is changing but with the changes to the transfer portal now, it seems that Kentucky is trying to stay ahead of the curve.