Derek Willis, a Kentucky native who plays high school ball at Bullitt East in Mount Washington Ky, announced his commitment to play basketball for the University of Kentucky today. He is the #23 overall recruit in the class of 2013 according to rivals.com.
Willis is a big man with a great outside shot, who can really put the ball on the floor too.
The 6’9” 210 lb. power forward is so skilled with the ball that many say he could work at the small forward position as well. Part of what makes Derek so unique in addition to his skill set, is the fact that he is about 8 months younger that most kids in his class and mature beyond his years.
He is also known as a very unselfish teammate as well. Derek averaged 17 points , 11 rebounds and 6 blocks this year for the Chargers, focusing more on his post play than his perimeter game and ball handling because that is what his team needed.
He is the top player in the state of Kentucky, so it is only right that he is going to play his college ball for the Wildcats.
Derek had committed to the Purdue Boilermakers in his sophomore year of high school, but due to a great season of AAU ball and a subsequent uptick in national attention, re-opened his recruitment this past August. Derek was said to be considering Louisville, Indiana, and Purdue, in addition to UK.
His commitment is the first for UK in the class of 2013, which many believe could be better than any of the classes Coach Cal has put together thus far. The commitment of Derek Willis makes for a great first step in doing so.
