Twitter Tuesday: Isaiah Todd, Kentucky, Villanova, Illinois
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MORE: Which programs could have a strong finish to the 2019 class?
In this week’s Twitter Tuesday mailbag, we address the chances of Isaiah Todd reclassifying, check out how Villanova looks in the 2020 class, and check out the 2019 recruiting efforts for Kentucky and Illinois.
I give it a 50-50 chance that Isaiah Todd reclassifies into the 2019 class. We broke the news last week that the five-star junior was thinking about the move, but a lot would still need to be done for that to occur. The biggest steps would be for Todd to find the right landing spot and get all of his academic credits in order to be eligible next season.
Kentucky is now involved with Todd and while the Wildcats have yet to offer, they could make a major push for him in the coming weeks. With Kentucky struggling to land frontcourt talent this winter it would not be a shock to see Todd become a top target if he decides to move up a year.
Maryland, Oklahoma State and North Carolina are the three other programs that are the most involved at the moment. Now that the idea of Todd reclassifying is out in the open, I expect many other programs to jump into the picture with an offer of their own. In the meantime, look for Todd and his family to continue to kick the tires on jumping into the 2019 class.
That is a tough one as Kentucky is not in the driver’s seat for any of its top targets left on its board.
Anthony Edwards, Matthew Hurt and Jaden McDaniels remain the Wildcats' top three targets at the moment. However, Florida State and Georgia are the two to beat for Edwards; Duke, Kansas and North Carolina will be tough to overcome for Hurt; lastly, McDaniels is a total guessing game but Washington has gained the most talk of late, though a decision remains far off. Of the three, McDaniels would seem to be the most likely to land with Kentucky but I struggle to see him going too far away from the Pacific Northwest.
Keep an eye on Isaiah Todd and N’Faly Dante, each five-star juniors that could reclassify a year up. Meanwhile, expect for Kentucky to make another look at the grad-transfer waters this spring.
You definitely hit on two of Illinois' top targets this winter. Terrence Shannon told Rivals.com last week that a timeline for his college commitment still has not been set. DePaul is heavily involved despite his decommitment from the program in the fall, and Texas Tech could be a sleeper. Georgetown remains involved with the four-star prospect, as well.
Christian Brown, the high school teammate of top-35 commit Kofi Cockburn, could potentially visit Champaign in the coming weeks. Getting an official visit date remains difficult with Brown being away at Oak Hill and the high school season ongoing, but expect for him to see the Big Ten program and Pitt before he comes to a decision. NC State has garnered most of the talk to date but I would not sleep on the Illini or Panthers when it comes to Brown's recruitment.
Lester Quinones and Tristan Enaruna are two others that Illinois could pursue further as each provide versatility on the perimeter along with ability to positively impact their program next season.
I guess you could say that Villanova will not be as invested in the 2020 class as it was in the ones that preceded it, especially this year’s crop that will bring arguably Jay Wright’s best recruiting class to the Main Line in the fall. There are not many departures expected after the 2019-20 season beyond little-used Tim Delaney but, then again, someone like Brian Antoine or Jeremiah Robinson-Earl could have a tremendous freshman season and become Wright’s first ever one-and-done at Nova.
Jeremy Roach is the Wildcats' main priority in the 2020 class, and he is down to a final four of Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina and the Wildcats. Villanova was the first of the bunch to prioritize Roach and their culture of success and strong guard development has definitely kept them in the picture. If not Roach, Villanova could wait things out further in finding the right match, though they have also shown some interest to Johnny Juzang, a do-it-all, five-star wing from California.