It’s Twitter Thursday, and Rivals.com basketball recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy has solicited questions about all sorts of things related to college hoops recruiting. This week, he fields questions about Kentucky, Louisville and which fictional coach would make the best recruiter.
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2023 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2024 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team
2025 Rankings: Top 80
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I’m not gonna lie to you here, Tanner, good news is hard to come by in Lexington these days. That said, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel… even if you have to squint to see it. That good news comes in the form of Karter Knox, who has to be seen as a Kentucky lean, and is off to a blazing start to the grassroots campaign. Knox feels like a lock to move further into the top 10 when the rankings update in June. He’s also a good bet to land at UK as long as John Calipari is still the coach, so there’s that. They are also among the programs heavily in the mix for top-flight point guard Boogie Fland and four-star wing Billy Richmond.
Is that the level of good news you wanted? Probably not, but I’m trying my best here.
In all honesty, Kentucky isn’t going to play with seven players next year. I understand the remaining portal options look less than inspiring, but things may get better on that front when the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline hits next month. I fully expect Kentucky to make overtures to the big names that may shake out of that, including Jullian Phillips.
Will theft get any of them? Who knows, but all is not lost. I promise.
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I think Knox’s recruitment will open up if, for some reason, John Calipari isn’t at Kentucky when the five-star forward is ready to sign his letter of intent. Otherwise, it’s gonna be an uphill battle for everyone else. There’s simply too much working in UK’s favor here. Knox has a relationship with Calipari that stretches back years. He’s familiar with the Kentucky campus and tradition. There’s also the fact that the sitting Kentucky head coach developed his older brother into a one-and-done lottery pick. Now, if this year’s Wildcats fall apart completely or Calipari and the school part ways for any reason, then we have a real conversation on our hands.
As for 2024 targets, it’s tough to say. A lot of Louisville’s priority targets are already off the board and, as we all have learned, Kenny Payne and his staff move in silence on the recruiting trail. They have, however, shown a recent knack for pushing their way in with prospects at the last minute or snagging commitments from prospects that decommit from their original choice. Be aware of that, but also watch Labaron Philon, who seems to have had his interest piqued by Payne and company to some extent.
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Wow. I thought you’d never ask. If we are talking straight recruiting, I don’t even have to think about it. Gordon Bombay is the beginning and end of this conversation. Nothing on earth has ever been more obvious. There is no second place. Does the head coach of the Mighty Ducks know anything about basketball? Probably not. Still, a good-looking, smooth-talking, drunk-driving defense lawyer that cruises around in a limo and is charismatic enough to start dating his own players’ moms (sorry Charlie Conway), is an easy pick. Let’s not forget that he also ditched Charlie’s mom and immediately replaced her with THE TEAM TUTOR (!) in D2 without losing Charlie as a player.
Let me restate that: This man briefly and publicly dated the team captain’s mother, ditched her for her son’s teacher and somehow escaped the situation unscathed. My man does not rebuild. He reloads. Every single college basketball coach in America should thank whatever God he serves that Bombay is both fictional and not court ordered to coach D-I hoops.
His resume is printed on solid gold paper. Gordon recruited slap-shot specialist Fulton Reed off the streets and convinced him to give up a football career to play for a downright awful District 5 team. He exploited a loophole to land All-Everything star Adam Banks and even rolled out to LA and recruited Russ Tyler and his lethal knuckle-puck after meeting him, like, twice ever?
Bombay gets whatever he wants on the trail and, lord knows, he isn’t above tampering or bending rules, which are both key qualities in effective modern recruiters. This is the take-the-fall-act-hurt guy, after all. This man will recruit your roster and have your best player in the transfer portal before your season even ends.
