Things are beginning to pick up with some of the top talent in the 2021 class. FutureCast predictions have been placed or changed over the past few days which has led to some of your most pressing questions for this week’s #TwitterTuesday.
We take a look at the latest with Skyy Clark and Jaden Hardy, the upcoming final three for Trevor Keels, who Ben Gregg picks tomorrow and much more.
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Listen, some took it as me having a personal vendetta of sorts against Kentucky. On the contrary. Rather, I think that UK will ultimately strike with Hunter Sallis, which could make their chances of landing Skyy Clark and/or Jaden Hardy much smaller.
For most of the recruiting world, it is believed to be practically done for Kentucky with both Clark and Hardy. However, with Hardy all but likely to wait until the spring to sign and with the G League now an option, I just don’t see John Calipari having the willingness to wait that long without filling a much needed hole in his backcourt, even with someone as good as Hardy, if he can snag someone like Sallis.
That changes if Sallis commits to say Gonzaga or North Carolina but if not, Clark could also look elsewhere. For now, he remains solidly set at remaining in the 2022 class, but I just fail to see him sticking with that year of college enrollment. If someone like Roy Williams is personally recruiting Clark like he is a need-to-get prospect, which he is, and could have a hole to fill in the backcourt with Caleb Love’s potential one-and-done season ahead, then what the Tar Heels are offering might be too much for Clark to say no to.
Clark is the nearest to his decision; despite my FutureCast and the intel that I have received, UK is still the conversation for the five-star but I’m much more comfortable picking UNC for him at this time. Hardy is more of a guessing game, but the longer things go, the more difficult it is for UK. If I told Kentucky fans their backcourt next year would be Sallis, Nolan Hickman, and Devin Askew, along with a potential transfer of some type, they’d gladly accept and move on.
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Trevor Keels is expected to narrow his school list to a final three in the coming days and while questions still remain as to who the third team will be, it is more of a two-team battle between Duke and Villanova.
The question is whether the backcourt is too full at either spot next season and if that would deter him from picking the respective program. Collin Gillespie will graduate in the spring but Justin Moore and Bryan Antoine will return, and an already loaded 2021 class will also enroll along the Main Line next year.
At Duke, the Blue Devils are not recruiting any other guards in the 2021 class. Villanova has already landed Angelo Brizzi and Jordan Longino. However, DJ Steward and Jeremy Roach could also return for their sophomore seasons, which could muddle some things along the perimeter.
Either way, both programs will make the cut; the final spot should be reserved for North Carolina or Virginia. The latter may be my pick right now thanks to their nearly three-year long recruitment of Keels compared to practically all others that have just been recruiting him as a priority for a little over a year now. Louisville, Michigan, Ohio State and UConn are also in the mix.
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Jacob, I would say that you’re about right with the top three for Ben Gregg but with a commitment just a day away, one school may have separated from the rest of the pack.
Despite just offering last month and after Gregg had already declared when he was planning on announcing his college choice, all signs point toward Gonzaga winning the recruitment of the four-star within the next 36 hours. Born in Spokane, Wash., and a fan of the program growing up, Gregg did not appeared bothered with the tardy offer.
Maybe he makes a last minute change but for now, Gonzaga looks like it will be celebrating the commitment of another tremendous talent that could be the long-term replacement for Corey Kispert when all things are said and done.
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I don’t think visits, or the inability to take them, will play that big of a factor in the decision of Jabari Smith.
Tennessee is the only program to have actually brought Smith in for an official visit. He has visited Georgia in the past but that was just for brief visits with Tom Crean and the rest of the coaching staff.
For now, it will be about who Smith feels he has the best relationship with, who he is going to play alongside, and how he will fit within certain systems. Crean has struck a solid chord with Smith and his family and his overall development abilities during his days at Indiana, Marquette and UGA, have caught the eye of the five-star.
That doesn’t mean that the recruitment of Smith is a done deal in favor of the Bulldogs. Auburn is always a program that must be reckoned with, especially in Atlanta, while LSU will not be easy to knock off, either. Smith’s father starred in Baton Rouge during his own playing days and Will Wade has definitely marked the top-five prospect as a must get, though Wade's long-term job status remains shaky in light of NCAA allegations about him playing players.
When the time comes, Smith will play in the SEC. North Carolina has a slight chance, I guess, but it is more about Auburn, Georgia, LSU and Tennessee.
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Deebo Coleman has not spoken much on his recruitment but one of the best shot-makers in the 2021 class has no shortage of suitors.
Memphis is my pick in the FutureCast thanks primarily to its needs in the backcourt. Lester Quinones and Boogie Ellis could test the NBA waters. Coleman is also a Memphis native that left the area before beginning his high school career and had actually played for the Team Penny travel program before Hardaway took the Memphis gig.
This is not a completely done deal for Memphis, though. Ole Miss has already secured three guards in the 2021 class, but would still take Coleman if he were to pledge his allegiances to the SEC squad. Keep an eye on Georgia Tech, a program that has recruited him practically as hard as anyone else throughout the years, Iowa State, a staff that has strong in-roads with Coleman and his family, and also Louisville, UCF and Virginia, the latter a school that has shown interest in him of late.
