DJ Jeffries’ father says UK didn’t handle decommitment well

DJ Jeffries’ decommitment sent shockwaves through the recruiting world Monday.

The four-star prospect decided to re-open his recruitment four months after verbally committing to the Kentucky Wildcats. According to Jeffries’ father, Corey Jeffries, Jeffries’ side talked about the decommitment with Kentucky, and UK didn’t handle it well.

He even went so far as to say they were “unprofessional” about it, according to Memphis radio host John Martin on Twitter.

You’d expect John Calipari to act as if he’s been in this situation before ... but he hasn’t. Jeffries is the first decommitment from Kentucky in the Coach Cal era.

What’s more, it’s pretty likely that this decommitment came due to contact between Jeffries and Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway. That breaks recruiting’s unwritten rule of recruiting committed players. But at the same time, Hardaway is Jeffries’ former coach.

With the decommitment, Memphis has now surged in Jeffries’ crystal ball, grabbing 60 percent of the predictions, including a pick from Evan Daniels. The Olive Branch, Mississippi, native is currently the No. 37 player in the 247 Sports Composite for the 2019 class.

No one else knows what exactly was said between the two sides, but one thing’s for sure: Hardaway is starting a recruiting war, and Calipari doesn’t lose those often.

Also, even if Kentucky didn’t handle the news well, that’s not something you go and air on radio the day after the news. Calipari doesn’t tend to deal with parents who make their own headlines, so perhaps this really was best for both sides to move on.

Jeffries’ father actually made several odd statements during this interview:

Alas, there’s clearly no change of Jeffries re-committing to Kentucky. At this point, they may not even want it.