Kentucky Basketball Recruiting 2013: Targeting the Stars
By Tyler Adkins
The 2011 class for Coach John Calipari has been called one of the best classes in history, but the 2013 class has the potential to be even better. With several expected openings in scholarships, Calipari should have plenty of room to bring in top talent from this years junior class. With nearly every top player listing UK as a potential school, let’s take a look at the top targets Calipari seems to be targeting for the 2013 class.
Jabari Parker: 6-8, 220 pounds-SF
Parker is the top ranked player in the class and is an absolute beast who can’t be stopped on the high school level. Calipari has been to watch Parker several times recently and followed him around all summer. He doesn’t have a short list, but he always lists UK as a school of interest. This will be one of the toughest recruits to call from this class.
Nerlens Noel: 6-10, 210 pounds-C
Even though Noel is ranked #2 behind Parker, he seems to be the #1 guy Calipari has been targeting. He followed Noel all summer and has been called one of the best shot blockers in high school in the last 20 years (if true that makes him better than Anthony Davis, wow). Noel’s list consists of UK, UL (he visited them last week), North Carolina, Florida, and Kansas. This should be an interesting recruitment to follow and UK has a great chance at landing this stud.
Andrew Harrison: 6-5, 210 pounds-PG
Aaron Harrison: 6-5, 210 pounds-SG
The Harrison twins are probably the most interesting prospects in the class. Both are ranked in the top 10 nationally, and they play key positions, point and shooting guard. The twins are going to be a huge get for whoever gets them due to getting two unbelievably talented players who obviously know each other as well as two players can know each other. The twins have been rumored for a while to be UK leans, and I think everyone feels good about the chances that UK lands them. Although nothing is ever certain in recruiting, these two would be given the highest chance to commit to UK at this time.
Troy Williams: 6-6, 190 pounds-SF
The nephew of legendary AAU coach Boo Williams is a super talented small forward who took a visit to UK last weekend to watch the UK/UL matchup. Williams is another top 10 prospect who has a list consisting of five teams: UK, North Carolina, Villanova, Georgetown and Virginia Tech. With his visit to UK recently it appears he has a large amount of interest in UK.
Derek Willis: 6-9, 210 pounds-PF
The Bullitt East product is the highest rated prospect in Kentucky, and is ranked in the top 50 nationally. He was committed to Purdue originally but then de-committed a short time later after he began receiving national attention. He has visited UK and UL multiple times and both coaches have been to his high school to watch him play this season. It appears this will end up being a battle of the bluegrass between UK and UL for the highly touted Kentucky prospect. Want a picture of Calipari and Pitino signing autographs at Willis’ high school game? Of course you do:
Other prospects to watch for UK in the 2013 class include top 5 prospects Julius Randle and Chris Walker, who both have UK on their lists and Calipari has been watching both recently. With all of these top prospects listing UK, it could be a recruiting haul in 2013 unlike any the sport has ever seen.
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