Derek Willis Signs National Letter of Intent

In a Signing Day ceremony at his school, 2013 power forward Derek Willis from Mt. Washington (Ky.) Bullitt East signed and sent his National Letter of Intent to the Kentucky Wildcats. His high school coach, John Hunt, tweeted a picture of Willis at his ceremony.

Willis joins fellow big man Marcus Lee as the two members of Kentucky's 2013 recruiting class to have sent in LOIs. James Young is expected to fax his in later this week. Meanwhile, the Harrison twins will reportedly also send in LOIs some time this week, after previously expressing a desire not to sign until the spring.

Willis, who was Kentucky's first commitment in the 2013 class, is a borderline 3 to 4 star prospect in the 2013 class. He had sat comfortably in the top 100 of most services, but a disappointing AAU season this past summer saw him slip in the recruiting rankings. Nevertheless, he is a burly forward with a nice inside-out game that should provide quality depth to the Kentucky program.