Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Recruiting: Competition for No. 1 Ranking in Class of 2016

According to ESPN and Scout.com, Jayson Tatum is currently the top-ranked basketball player in the country for the Class of 2016.  He is just one of the targets that John Calipari is looking at for that Kentucky Wildcats basketball recruiting class and most of the major targets will have Kentucky on their minds.

However, the race for the No. 1 overall ranking in the Class of 2016 is far from over.  Tatum will have to fend off a couple of his peers in order to retain the top ranking in the Class of 2016.

Scout.com director of recruiting Evan Daniels spoke to the Lexington Herald-Leader about the competition for the top spot.  “In the 2016 class, it comes down to three players: Josh Jackson, Harry Giles, and Jayson Tatum,” Daniels said.  “And those are three elite-level recruits that I think are going to get paid to play at the highest level for a long time.  Those guys will battle it out for the top spot, and it’s tough,” he said.

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Josh Jackson is from Southfield, Michigan and attends Prolific Prep.  He is a 6’6″ small forward and is rated by ESPN as a five-star recruit.  He is also ranked by ESPN as the No. 2 small forward and as the No. 2 overall player in the Class of 2016.  Jackson’s major scholarship offers are from Arizona, Auburn, California, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State, Ohio State, and UCLA.  Although Jackson hasn’t yet received an offer from Kentucky, UK assistant basketball coach Kenny Payne did visit Jackson’s school this past fall.

Harry Giles is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina and attends Wesleyan Christian Academy.  He is a 6’9″ power forward and is rated by ESPN as a five-star recruit.  He is also ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 power forward and as the No. 3 overall player in the Class of 2016.  Giles’ major scholarship offers include Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, Syracuse, and Texas.

Tatum is from Saint Louis, Missouri and attends Chaminade College Prep.  He is a 6’7″ small forward and is rated by ESPN as a five-star recruit.  He is also ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 small forward and as the No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2016.  Tatum’s major scholarship offers include Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Ohio State, among several others.  Tatum was the first player from the Class of 2016 to receive a scholarship offer from UK and he has already visited Lexington twice.

The race between these prospects to be the No. 1 player in the Class of 2016 will likely go on until the end of their high school careers.

“There’s something different about each guy, but all three are ultra competitive,” Daniels said.  “All three are winners.  All three are guys that are going to spend a lot of time in the NBA, so it’s a tough call,” he said.

UK is also making progress with other tremendous recruits from the Class of 2016.  UK has already offered scholarships to and gained visits from Thon Maker, Malik Monk, and Derryck Thornton.  All three of them are five-star recruits.