During his tenure at Kentucky, John Calipari has completed top recruiting class after top recruiting class year-in and year-out. The players have always been impressive, but recently, there was buzz that 2013 could yield Calipari’s best class yet.
However, in a matter of days, the possible 2013 dream team moved up a year with the reclassification of Nerlens Noel. Now many are questioning who will join Derek Willis in 2013.
While Noel is a tough void to fill, it looks like the staff may have an option on the defensive end of the floor. This option is none other than [B]BeeJay Anya.[/B]
Anya, a 6-foot-9 shot-blocker from DeMatha Catholic (Md.), has received limited interest from Kentucky throughout his high school career. But now, things seem to be heating up a little.
“I have talked to Coach [Orlando] Antigua a lot about BeeJay,” DeMatha coach Mike Jones explained. “We have had very good, in-depth conversations about him. They have definitely been monitoring him lately.”
Jones did say he had also had a few conversations with Calipari, but Antigua has been the main coach thus far.
The coaching staff has not contacted Anya personally yet, but the big man already has some interest in Kentucky.
“I am very interested in Kentucky. I really like the way they have used Anthony Davis this year. He has been impressive,” Anya commented.
Several other top schools have shown interest in Anya, including Syracuse, Ohio State, Indiana, UCLA, Georgetown, Louisville, Texas, Maryland, and Kansas, among others.
“Ohio State and DePaul have been the most consistent schools staying in touch, but Georgetown, Virginia, Pitt, and Indiana have also been very active,” Jones said in reply to who was showing the most interest in the junior thus far.
Despite having a raw offensive game, Anya lets his defense do the talking. He also shares characteristics with two of the top players in the country.
“My game is unique, but I compare myself to Jared Sullinger and Anthony Davis, kind of a mixture of those two guys. Sullinger is more skilled than I am on offense, but we do a lot of the same things. And I can block shots, so that is where Davis comes in.”
Both Anya and Jones could easily see the star post-player wearing a UK jersey in a few years and fitting in well with the dribble-drive offense.
“I could see myself fitting in really well. Kentucky is very athletic and they get up and down the floor. That is similar to how we play at DeMatha. We do multiple things,” Anya said.
“BeeJay could definitely fit in at Kentucky. In his three years, we have had different types of styles, depending on the players. He has proved he can play with top guards like Quinn Cook (Duke) by setting screens and finishing at the rim, and then he also played well with Mikael Hopkins (Georgetown) when we were post-oriented. This year, we are balanced,” Jones commented.
Anya is in no hurry to make a decision, but he does say he will wait till the end of his senior year. He could cut his list down by the summer, though.
Below is a video interview with Anya, as he describes his game.
Follow Garrett Tucker on Twitter [URL=”https://twitter.com/#%21/GTuckersports”]@GTuckersports[/URL] for more info on Kentucky recruiting.
[youtube_sc width=430 url=RD5SxKdo29I]
