2012 Kentucky Basketball Recruiting: Checking in on Perry Ellis, DaJuan Coleman, and J.P. Tokoto

Now that the 2011 class is signed-sealed-and delivered, and Kentucky is assured of their third straight number one recruiting class, John Calipari is turning his attention to the 2012 class.  While it’s never too early to start collecting commitments for 2012, you have to wonder if Calipari’s success in 2011 is making some of the 2012 recruits take their time to pick Kentucky, not knowing who may stay or leave for the NBA after the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Plus, these kids are just starting their Junior year in high school!!

Don’t get me wrong.  I am in no means concerned about the 2012 class.   I am no longer concerned about basketball recruiting as long as John Calipari is at the helm.  It’s just that the elite of the 2012 class may not commit as long as the last two classes are hanging around.  Some teams like Indiana, already have three players committed for 2012.  Of course, it’s not like Tom Crean is stealing players Kentucky is looking at now … but the word to preach for 2012 may be patience. 

That said, let’s take a look a few of the 2012 recruits and see what they have been up to.

PERRY ELLIS  6’8  PF

Ellis is one of the top PF’s in the 2012 class and would be making a statement if Calipari was able to snag him.  The reason?  Ellis is from Wichita Kansas, and has been considered to be a Kansas lean for quite some time.  Undaunted, John Calipari has stepped up his pursuit of Ellis, making a trip to visit him a couple of weeks ago.  Ellis returned the favor last weekend, taking in the ETSU game and his mother is quoted as saying Ellis had a “great visit” to Kentucky.  So there is mutual interest there.  Besides Kansas and Kentucky, Ellis is also considering Kansas State, Memphis, and Oklahoma, among others.  Perry is rated at #10 overall by ESPN and #19 by Rivals.

Ellis is a definite talent as he was the 2009 Gatorade player of the year in Kansas, but you wonder how much he would fit into the DDMO.  The main weakness on Ellis is that he is only a PF and is not the quickest player.  That said, he does have a range of about 15 feet and is a tenacious rebounder and is a very effective scorer.  I know that Calipari likes his forwards a bit more versatile, but at one time, Ellis was a contender for the top player in the 2012 class and would be a great edition to the Cats.

.  DAJUAN COLEMAN  6’8 C

Coleman is yet another talented big man that Calipari appears to have his work cut out from him on.  But first, let’s clear up one common misconception about Dajuan Coleman:  He is not Derrick Coleman’s kid.  It’s easy to get them confused as  Dujuan considers the Syracuse area to be his hometown and he has the Orange high on his list of schools.  He has also said in the past that North Carolina is his dream school.  But recently, he claimed he had no favorites and named a “top seven” of  Syracuse, Ohio State, North Carolina, Kentucky, Louisville, West Virginia, and Georgetown. 

Coleman is listed in the top 10 of 2012 by both ESPN and Rivals and is a player that can dominate the game at times.  Of course, being just a HS Junior, Coleman is still expected to grow a couple of inches, but the one knock on him has been controlling his weight.  He does have the talent, the size, and the skill to be an effective post player in the DDMO and is a very good rebounder on both ends of the court.

J.P. TOKOTO  6’6 SF

Tokoto is widely considered to be one of the top prospects ever in the state of Wisconsin and when all is said and done, he is expected to depart the dairy state for one of the biggies of college basketball:  Duke, Carolina, Kansas, or Kentucky – but Tokoto has said that is not necessarily the case and that he really has no favorites at this time:

"It’s not going to be just because Duke, North Carolina or Kentucky offered me I’m going to leave the state,” he said. “It’s going to be one of those decisions where I want to stay in-state or I want to go out of state for school. Everybody’s in the running. There’s no favorites.”"

Tokoto is an interesting prospect because even though he is just a junior in high school, he is a physical marvel.  He is just 6’6, but he can touch 12 feet high — two feet above the rim.  That measures to a 40 inch vertical, and J.P also boasts a 210 pound bench press and 315 pound squat.  In short, Tokoto is one of the most explosive prospects in quite some time.  He can attack the rim especially well and is comfortable dishing off to a teammate also.  When he is on, he can be one of the most explosive scorers in the class.

These are just three of the players that Kentucky is looking at in the 2012 class.  Stay tuned to the Wildcat Blue Nation as we check in on the 2012 class from time to time. 

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