Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Recruiting: Dayton Newspaper Gives Insight on Luke Kennard
By Tyler Ross
Luke Kennard, a high school junior from Franklin High School in Ohio, has been gaining quite a bit of attention over the past few weeks as he has been averaging 40.2 points per game. Dayton Daily News staff writer, Marc Pendleton, recently wrote an article about Kennard and how valuable he is to the team. Pendleton also gives us insight on when Kennard is expected to decide his college of choice and to whom.
In the article, Pendleton mentions how unselfish Kennard is. In fact, after scoring his game high 51 points against Edgewood High School, Kennard returned to practice only to be Franklin’s ‘hardest worker’ according to Franklin coach, Brian Bales. As an effect of Kennard’s work ethic, he is also helping to build Franklin’s basketball program,
"“He won every drill; every sprint,” Bales recalled. “When you got a guy who’s scoring 51 points in a game and the next day he’s our hardest worker, that’s why our program is where it is.”"
Kennard is also drawing attention from national outlets and big name coaches as well. Names such as John Calipari, Coach K and Thad Matta have seen in attendance watching Kennard. Pendleton goes on to list who he thinks will be contenders for Kennard and when he will announce his commitment,
"It’s a tossup if Kennard will verbally commit to Ohio State, Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina or any other college power of his choosing. He has said he’ll pick sometime early in 2014. He also is uncommitted on playing football as a senior."
One of the great takeaways from the excerpt where Pendleton mentions when and who Kennard will commit to, is the fact that Kennard has at one point been a football player. It may not seem like a big deal, but Coach Cal likes working with football-build players who will work hard and make plays. Kennard would make a huge impact on the roster at Kentucky simply for being built the way that he is and he mentally. Willie Cauley-Stein for an example has made a huge impact on this season’s roster for his presence at the rim.
However, the difference between Cauley-Stein and Kennard is that Cauley-Stein plays center and Kennard will more-than-likely play everything but center in college. This is because Kennard is 6-foot-6 and would match-up better in other positions. However, if Kennard commits to Kentucky, who knows where Coach Cal will possibly place Kennard.
Regardless of what position Kennard will play in college he is sure to be a solid player on any roster. His season low points-per-game was 33 points against Brookville High School. So far on the season, Kennard is averaging 40.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 2.8 steals-per-game. Also, keep in mind, he is only a junior and his numbers may even improve as time progresses.
Kennard also attended LeBron James’ Skills Academy, which could be a good sign for either Kentucky or Ohio State fans as both schools have connections to LeBron James.
Rivals ranks Kennard as the #16 overall recruit for the 2015 recruiting class and ESPN has Kennard ranked as #24 overall. Both have Kennard listed as a five-star recruit. According to sources, Kennard may commit by the end of his junior season or wait until his Senior season to make his decision.
Here’s a look at
and Franklin High School against Eaton High School, were Kennard scored 41 points,
To view the original article from the Dayton Daily News, click here.