With the conclusion of the Dominican team’s summer season, John Calipari and his staff will now be out for the next three weeks recruiting to close out July. Despite Calipari and Orlando Antigua’s roles with the Dominican Republic, Kenny Payne and John Robic have been out recruiting for the past few days.
Robic has been in Indianapolis for the adidas Invitational, where several Kentucky targets are playing this weekend.
The most popular name right now among Kentucky fans is [B]Chris Walker[/B]. The 6-foot-10 forward has yet to receive an offer from the Cats, but he is hoping for one in July. Walker has been waiting on UK to offer for awhile, and it looks like he may be getting frustrated. He told Rivals he may have to cut Kentucky soon; if the Calipari offers, Kentucky joins Florida as main contenders for his services.
Robic also saw [B]Jordan Mickey [/B]and [B]Karviar Shepherd[/B], but it is unclear where they stand right now.
A couple of 2014 targets have been in action, too. Kentucky’s own [B]D’Angelo Russell [/B]has continued his impressive play from the spring and Robic has also watched him a few times. [B]Noah Vonleh [/B]is a rather new name for Kentucky fans, but get used to hearing about him. He is one of the better players in his class, and, according to a source, UK will be huge contenders for him when it comes down to it. He has expressed his interest in UK recently, and he says that the staff is showing him a lot of interest, along with Louisville and Indiana.
Kenny Payne has sat in to see [B]Aaron and Andrew Harrison [/B]recently after head coaches from Baylor, SMU, Maryland, and Villanova all saw them on the first day of the live period. Kentucky is still the favorites to land the twins in our opinion.
And last but not least, John Calipari has been in Washington, D.C. on Friday taking in the Nike Global Challenge and Nike Skills U. Several targets are here, too.
[B]James Young [/B]is the headliner of the group. There has been a lot of buzz in the past that a commitment from Young could come any day now, but he is waiting to make a decision in August (at least publicly). While he has listed five schools, the only two in play are Kentucky and Michigan State. This has been the situation for a long time; Arizona has also made a good run, but expect Sean Miller and his staff to cool off and focus on their other wings. James Young to UK is inevitable, and it will come in no time.
Another talented wing playing in D.C. is [B]Troy Williams[/B], who almost committed to UK earlier in the spring; Alabama and Louisville have really picked up speed in his recruitment, and Williams’ tweet regarding himself and Anthony “Cat” Barber playing together has raised some eyebrows. In order for the two to play together, they would have to choose either the Cards or the Tide. According to my sources, Alabama is in good position for Barber, and I highly doubt Williams ends up in Tuscaloosa. If I was betting on it, I would say these two are headed in different directions.
Other targets who Calipari could be watching in D.C. includes [B]Marcus Lee[/B], who says he has received interest from the Cats recently. [B]JaQuan Lyle [/B]is another name Kentucky could have their eye on for 2014.
Expect things to really heat up next week with the Peach Jam in Augusta.
