Several top players still available for 2013
September 25, 2012
By Nick Jones
Fresh off a national championship season, UK head coach John Calipari is already focusing on the future of his program. He has been perhaps the busiest man on the planet over these past couple of weeks.
The contact period with recruits has him flying all over the U.S. to make his pitch to sway his top targets to attend UK. He has made stops from California to North Carolina and just about everywhere in between.
Coach Cal and his staff have visited players ranging from the 2013 to the 2015 classes. His priority right now, though, is molding the class of 2013 into yet another top-ranked class.
It seems as though the UK staff has narrowed their wish list to just a select group of talented players: Aaron and Andrew Harrison, Julius Randle, James Young, Aaron Gordon, Kennedy Meeks, Tyler Roberson and Marcus Lee.
All eight of these recruits have received in-home visits and scholarship offers from the UK staff. It is expected that any number of them could wind up joining Derek Willis — Calipari’s lone commitment — on UK’s campus next fall.
The one recruit who seems to have slipped off the radar for the Cats as of late is top-ranked player Jabari Parker. The 6-foot-8 small forward still has a scholarship offer from UK, but an in-home visit with Calipari has not yet been in the works.
Cats fans should have nothing to worry about if the Chicago native cuts UK from his list. Parker is an elite talent, but there are other options at the small forward position that appear to be more likely to end up in Lexington.
The play of Andrew Wiggins this past summer has allowed him to emerge as the top overall player regardless of class. Wiggins would become the top priority at the wing position for UK if he makes the decision to reclassify to the 2013 class.
With that decision seemingly just around the corner, and with the Harrison Twins’ commitment date set for Oct. 29, it will become much more clear as to how the 2013 class will shape up for UK.
One thing is for sure: UK can’t go wrong with any combination of these players and the class of 2013 has the potential to be the best class yet for Calipari.
