Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Recruiting – Trevor Lacey: To Be a Wildcat or Not to be a Wildcat?

That is the question …. and for now, Wildcat fans will have to wait for the answer.

The recruitment of Lacey has been a long and winding one with many twists and turns along the way.  For so long, Lacey seemed a sure Kentucky lean, but then home state schools Alabama and Auburn seemed to take the lead.  A few weeks ago, Lacey announced that he had made a decision and would announce on April 22 at an event honoring his high school’s state title.

Even that seemed to be a bit iffy as there was speculation that the announcement may be moved up to yesterday, which obviously did not happen.  And then when you consider that Lacey attended some of Alabama’s NIT games, it seemed a foregone conclusion that Lacey was set to be a red elephant.   Most pundits said it was a two team race between Kentucky and Alabama, with some throwing Auburn into the mix.

Then last week, Lacey debunked the speculation that he was down to a final two and that he was still considering Kentucky, Kansas, UConn, Alabama, and Auburn.  Last week, Lacey received visits from Alabama coach Anthony Grant and the Kansas coaching staff.  Despite saying he had made up his mind on a school, there seemed to be a lot of posturing and activity.

Earlier this week, Lacey announced that he was pushing back his decision date once again, this time until after he attended the Derby Festival Classic, which is on April 22.  The deadline for players to declare for the NBA Draft is on April 24, so the common thought is that Lacey wants to see who may go pro before finalizing his decision.  That seems to leave Alabama and Auburn on the back burner for now and elevates Kentucky, Kansas, and UConn.  Kentucky of course, is waiting on Brandon Knight to make a decision, Kansas is waiting on Josh Selby, and UConn just learned that Kemba Walker would be going pro. 

The above article references that Lacey may be waiting on Knight, but the writer notes that Knight and Lacey do not play the same position.  But oh they do.  With Marquis Teague on board, it is speculated that Teague will play the point and that Knight will move to shooting guard, which is incidentally the position Lacey plays.

However, it appears that Kansas and UConn may have more playing time available for Selby because even if Knight leaves, Lacey will have to beat Doron Lamb for the starters job and compete with DeAndre Liggins for playing time.  It’s a good position for Kentucky to be in however as Lacey could be fit in the rotation.  Lamb can also play the point some and Liggins can play the three as well as back up the point.  It’s a good problem to have.

As if on cue, John Calipari will be going to Huntsville on Friday to visit with Lacey.  And it appears that Lacey is expected to make a visit to Alabama this weekend and may possibly visit Kansas next week.

Seems like a lot of activity for a player that has known where he will attend school for a while.  Stay tuned.

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