Kentucky Basketball Extends Offer to a Duo of Guards

It has been a busy last 24 hours for the Wildcats. Looking to fill their roster two more players have received scholarship offers from the Kentucky Basketball program.

John Calipari and the Kentucky Basketball program offer scholarship to four-star guard Mark Smith.

According to Andre McMurray, the AAU Coach of Smith, the Wildcats have extended an offer to the Mr. Illinois Basketball award winner.

Smith is possibly the hottest recruit out there currently and a unique story. Back in 2015, Smith committed to the University of Missouri…to play for their baseball team. He was one of the top pitchers in the area throwing 89-91 the summer after his sophomore season.

Then the head coach of the Tigers, Tim Jamieson, resigned and Smith began feeling pain in his right arm leading him to focus on basketball.

Just last summer he was looking at Indiana State, Northern Illinois and Wright State. Now he has offers from Kentucky, Michigan State and Indiana.

Smith is listed at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds and has the ability to run both the point and play on the wings. Smith also has the size and athleticism to match up with a smaller stretch four  big men if Kentucky wants to go small.

Pittsburgh graduate transfer Cam Johnson also gets an offer

As first reported this morning by Corey Evans from Rivals the Wildcats have offered Johnson a scholarship.

The 6-8 guard has attracted a lot of attention since announcing he will transfer. Johnson is a unique case who is eligible to play right away but will have two years remaining instead of the typical year.

The Wildcats need guys who can shoot. Nobody on the current roster really projects as a consistent threat from deep. Johnson is a player who can step right in and fill that role. He finished last year shooting 41.5 percent from three and 40 percent for his career.

At 6-foot-8, he will also provide Kentucky the ability to create mismatches. The Wildcats can play small and put Johnson at the four to stretch out defenses to potentially create more room for Mohamed Bamba if he decides to make Kentucky his destination.

As things currently stand, Kentucky has three scholarships available. That could change to four after learning about the possibility of Issac Humphries pursuing a professional career back home.

Even if Humphries stays he will return as the most experienced player on the roster. While Coach Cal has shown he can win with a young team there is value in having some experience.

Players who have been through a college basketball season and know how to play in big games. Look no further than Dominique Hawkins last year in the SEC and NCAA tournament.

Next: Ranking The Top 10 Three Point Shots in Kentucky History

Things change really fast when dealing with high school kids and recruiting however early on it appears Kentucky is the favorite to land Cam Johnson while Mark Smith will probably end up at a Big 10 school like Illinois or Michigan State. Missouri will also be waiting in the wings with new head coach Cuonzo Martin being an Illinois native and Smith being familiar with the MIzzou campus.