Starting Five: Five-star Jeremiah Robinson-Earl entertains visitors

The recruitment of five-star power forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has picked up over the past few weeks. Who has been in to see the Kansas native plus notes on Arizona State's potential big-time 2021 visitor, a junior John Calipari was watching and much more.

Not surprisingly, the recruitment of five-star power forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl has turned into a big-time affair. Over the past couple of weeks, the product of Roeland Park (Kans.) Bishop Miege has seen things turn up as a steady stream of coaches has made their way in to see him play.

Head coaches from Creighton, Kansas, Kansas State, North Carolina and Wake Forest have been in while assistants from Missouri and Notre Dame have also dropped in over the course of the past two weeks.

A skilled four man who has been expanding his game facing the rim, Robinson-Earl is among the most efficient players in the class of 2019. He rebounds, runs the floor and is an outstanding passer to boot.

Robinson-Earl has yet to cut down his list and currently holds offers from all of the programs mentioned but North Carolina as well as Iowa, UCLA and Virginia. To date, he's seen the campus of every school mentioned.

Arizona State is one of the best stories in college basketball this season. They have a stud committed in 2018 in shooting guard Luguentz Dort and a big-timer in 2020 in guard Kyree Walker. Over the weekend they put their best foot forward with a potential star from the class of 2021.

Bobby Hurley and the Sun Devils hosted combo forward Michael Foster from Milwaukee (Wisc.) Washington for their game with Vanderbilt and though it's early, they are heavily in the mix one of the nation's top freshmen. An inside/out combo forward with versatile game, Foster figures to play a major role near the top of the rankings when we rank the class for the first time after the summer of 2018.

The Sun Devils have offered and so have UNLV, San Diego State and Bradley. Look for that list to grow rapidly over the next few months.

When Rick Barnes signed a top 35 recruiting class at Tennessee in 2016, it didn't receive a ton of national or even local fanfare because it didn't feature any household names. However, at the time we wrote that it would be a great foundation class for the future of the Volunteers program. Headlined by the likes of Grant Williams, Jordan Bone and Jordan Bowden, the class is performing even better than expected and ahead of schedule as the Vols have turned into a top 25 team.

On Sunday, they hosted North Carolina and what they hope are some pieces for another foundation class in 2019.

They fell short against the Tar Heels, but the strides they've made are evident as they hosted an impressive crew that included four Rivals150 prospects from the class of 2019. Among those who were on hand in Knoxville were four-star wing Marcus Watson, four-star power forward D.J. Burns, four-star shooting guard Kira Lewis and combo guard Trey McGowens. Will Barnes and the Vols land any of these guys? Time will tell, but given the strides they've made on the floor and how much more prominent they've become on the recruiting trail, they are headed in the right direction.

Right now, our plan is to update rankings across the board during January. When we get around to updating the 2020 group, look for shooting guard Josh Christopher to make the leap to five-star status.

The group of guards out West in that class is quite promising and includes No. 1 overall Jalen Green and five-star Arizona State commit Kyree Walker, who was mentioned above. Though Christopher's current ranking of No. 24 overall isn't that far off from the others, he doesn't yet have the national notoriety. That will change soon.

Rivals.com was on hand to watch Christopher on Friday night and the highlights below speak to Christopher's talent level. He's physical, he's explosive, he can shoot with range and he's a tough guard who is starting to remind us some of James Harden during his high school days.

Christopher currently holds offers from Arizona, California (where his brother Patrick Christopher who was a top 50 player in the class of 2006 played), Florida State, UCSB, USC, UNLV, Oregon and UCLA. Look for his recruitment to be among the most heavily contested in 2020.

John Calipari and Kentucky have been active a bit earlier than usual with the current junior class. Especially with big men. So far, the Wildcats have made scholarship offers to five-stars James Wiseman, Matthew Hurt and Vernon Carey plus four-star Keion Brooks and D.J. Jeffries. Over the weekend, Calipari was in to see another four-star big man from the junior class.

The Wildcats head coach checked in on Hermitage (Pa.) Kennedy Catholic center Oscar Tshiebwe. A rebounding machine with athleticism, toughness and a motor that never stops, he's among the toughest players in the country. As a bonus, Calipari was also able to see Tshiebwe's teammate Maceo Austin, a shooting guard who also ranks in the 2019 Rivals150.

The Wildcats haven't offered Tshiebwe yet, but whether they do or not, he's going to be just fine when it comes time to find somewhere to play his college basketball. Among those who have offered are Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Clemson, Rutgers, Penn State, Georgetown, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh.