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The Kentucky Wildcats coaching staff has now turned their sights to high school recruits in the class of 2023.
After a great recruiting class coming in next season, John Calipari and his staff are trying to land one that could go down as the best class in the Calipari era. One of the top players being targeted is 5-star wing Mookie Cook.
Cook participated in the Hoophall Classic this past weekend, and he’s since cut his list of schools down to nine. It features the Wildcats, Oregon Ducks, Arizona Wildcats, Kansas Jayhawks, Michigan Wolverines and UCLA Bruins among others.
2023 five-star Mookie Cook tells @On3Recruits he’s down to nine schools - Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, Oregon, Texas Tech, and UCLA.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) January 18, 2022
Story: https://t.co/NFCnJdtJPU pic.twitter.com/cKnpZOuQEu
In addition, Cook spoke with Jack Pilgrim of KSR about his recruitment and recent visit to Kentucky.
Cook and his family took an official visit to Lexington the weekend of October 29th, and his host of that visit was a familiar face in TyTy Washington. Cook currently plays at Compass Prep in Arizona, the same school that produced the star freshman for the Cats.
Does that relationship help? Well it sure can't hurt, especially with statements like this.
“That’s big bro,” Cook told Pilgrim. “Of course, he came through AZ Compass, he’s always there when he comes home, in the gym working out with us. That’s big bro. He’s breaking records, just broke John Wall’s assist record, doing big things. He’s a diaper dandy. … (TyTy is) a superstar, man.”
The 6-foot-7 and 200-pound wing, is one of the most sought-after prospects in the country.
“Oregon, Kansas, Texas Tech, Memphis, Kentucky, UCLA and Gonzaga,” Cook said of the schools recruiting him the hardest right now to KSR. Pilgrim later noted that even with the best of the best in pursuit, all trends are pointing toward this being a two-horse race between Kentucky and Oregon.
Cook is currently considered a top-five prospect in the class, according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings, who have him at fourth overall. They also rank him as the second-best small forward in the class.
Check out some of his highlights below, and read Pilgrim’s entire post at KSR.
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