September is here which means that we will soon begin to see more and more of the Rivals150 seniors come to their college decision. In this week’s #TwitterTuesday, we assess Kentucky’s potential recruiting class, the latest with Matt Cross, Dawson Garcia, Demarr Langford and Jordan Geronimo, and who the next and last top-10 prospect will be to commit.
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Kentucky. The Wildcats and Boston College are the only two programs that have hosted Terrence Clarke that made his final list and seeing that he is choosing his college home on Sept. 14, unless anything happens unforeseen, UK could be ready to celebrate the commitment of one of the most gifted wings in the 2021 class. And while Clarke has a lot of work to complete if he wants to reclassify and enroll in the 2020 class, I believe the desire is there on both sides to have him on campus next year.
Who else might the Wildcats add to its cupboard? I don’t see it in the cards for Jalen Green or Cade Cunningham, and if Clarke were to enroll as a 2020 prospect, it could deter Josh Christopher from coming on board. They do need a lead guard badly, which is why Devin Askew is a name that I would be monitoring. Just like Clarke, he is a member of the 2021 class that could reclassify later on and would be the ideal playmaking agent the Wildcats need.
In the frontcourt, there are no direct answers but Kentucky should land Isaiah Jackson and/or Lance Ware. Cliff Omoruyi is another to keep tabs on, as is Dawson Garcia, Isaiah Todd and Greg Brown, though Jackson and Ware are the likeliest. Paolo Banchero could also opt for the 2020 class, too, if he gets the work done, as Duke, UK and Washington are the three to beat.
Yes, I would expect for a decision from Matt Cross within the next 10 days. For those who have followed his recruitment of late, they may be rolling their eyes. They have heard that before, but Cross is seriously close to committing and is all done with his visits. He just saw Texas A&M last week and if there is a dark horse, it is the Aggies. Indiana and Miami have been the most talked about landing spots for him, but Butler, Florida and South Carolina also hosted the four-star prospect. No one has a great feel for where he will land but we do know that a decision should be made by mid-September.
Dawson Garcia is far away from a commitment. He has remained hush about his college recruitment and is fairly wide open to newer schools getting involved. He did just take an unofficial visit to Minnesota over the weekend and, last year, visited Baylor, Marquette and Texas officially. A school list is still difficult to create but don’t be surprised if the blue bloods become involved as the winter wanes on once they begin to miss on their top options.
DeMarr Langford just completed his official visit to Boston College over the weekend and has three others lined up for NC State, Texas A&M and Virginia Tech. The smart money is on the Eagles. They just enrolled his brother, Makai Ashton-Langford, who transferred into the ACC program by way of Providence, and also just took his travel teammate, Justin Vander Baan, earlier this week.
For Jordan Geronimo, we just saw last night that Indiana wrapped up his talents. His commitment was a bit quick but, either way, Geronimo is a major score for Archie Miller's bunch.
We know five-star Cade Cunningham is going to sign early but I could see him holding off from deciding until the signing period begins in November. Jalen Green is set to commit on Christmas Day and Ziaire Williams will likely take a spree of visits that could bleed into the winter months. That leads us to Scottie Barnes. The top-10 forward could ultimately wait things out and take a handful of visits but I wouldn’t be surprised if, well, he surprised us, and committed to Oregon.
For who might wait the longest, that could go the way of Makur Maker and Isaiah Todd. Both have been talked about as professional signees instead of playing college ball next winter with Maker the likeliest to do so. For committing to a program, Greg Brown is the best bet. He has visits already scheduled for next calendar year and is in no rush to end his recruitment. Texas is the team slightly out in front but his commitment will come down to who he will play with and the health of the program that he chooses.
