Is That Swaggy Recruiting Cal Back?
Updated: Dec 10, 2019
Is That Swaggy Recruiting Cal Back?
Written by:Dylan Ballard
Edited by: Sam Stallard
After such a tough week in the bluegrass, the Cats needed some life support in a big way. The loses to Tennessee in football and Evansville in basketball put about the whole state in a frenzy. The cats received much needed motivation Saturday. I’m not talking about the blowout football win, which was great and all (there will be another read over that released very soon) but for now, let’s talk about the excitement that came Saturday around 3:00 pm when the Cats received a Basketball commitment from 5-star forward Isaiah Jackson who will be in the 2020 recruiting class. This recruit is a dude that Cal and the cats were allegedly not going to get due to Jackson being considered a huge Alabama lean. This is another reason why I believe that coach Cal is getting his swag back. Along with getting top recruits, snatching guys who seem to be already gone elsewhere, and even getting dudes to reclassify, I believe Cal is back on his game.
Sports analysts and twitter trolls alike are claiming Coach Cal has lost his swag that built the brand over the last ten years! Cal was known as the one-and-done guy and Kentucky the one-and-done school. Then after much success for the Cats, other schools decided that they wanted to get in on the titles, final fours, TV time, publicity, plus recruiting top-tier players. As the other teams (especially Duke) began to get involved with recruiting these one-and-done type players, it began to become the norm that you no longer had to go to Kentucky to be drafted in the NBA after your freshman year. On top of that, Duke has been taking UK to the woodshed, as the old timers say, on recruiting as of lately. Duke has taken the top recruiting class the last few years and (even though the cats have been in second) its not something the Cats are used to. So the brand that had been built on the best of best, the place to be if you are elite, the top of the recruiting world was starting to slip a little to someone else.
Let’s dive into the role that Cal’s swag will play for next season’s cats and the recruiting class as a whole. A lot of fans may seem down because Cal struck out on number one PG Cade Cunningham after going all in, but I don’t believe that’s our endgame. Aside from the recent short coming with Cade, coach Cal has already locked up 6 of the top 30 players in the class of 2020. Also, claiming one of the elite guys in this class, Terrance Clarke, whom is highly considered to be a top 5 guy. This is great news for an area where Cal has been struggling as of late. Additionally, with the 6’ 9” Isaiah Jackson, Cal has all the bases covered and is looking to continue to add more guys. With Jackson being the 6th addition to the class! (four 5 stars and two 4 stars) So, I believe the Cats are back to topple Duke as the recruiting gods with our number one recruiting class for the class of 2020.
So, take some time and watch these recruits that are already signed and the ones cal wants to still get. Coach Cal is on a mission to prove everyone wrong with his 2020 recruiting class. I believe this class will prove Cal still has his swag!
Terrance Clark:
Status: signed
Position: 6’6” | Shooting Guard
Ranking: rivals - 4th overall | 24/7 sports: 4th overall
BJ Boston:
Status: committed
Position: 6’7 | Shooting Guard
Ranking: rivals - 17th overall | 24/7 sports: 27th overall
https://youtu.be/cSrFZfXzoWA
Devin Askew:
Status: signed & recently reclassified
Position: 6’3 | Point Guard
Ranking: rivals - 23rd overall | 24/7 sports: 27th overall
https://youtu.be/K8bJlRcWv40
Isaiah Jackson:
Status: signed
Position: 6’9 | Power Forward
Ranking: rivals - 32nd overall | 24/7 sports: 24th overall
Lance Ware:
Status: signed
Position: 6’9 | Power Forward
Ranking: rivals - 33rd overall | 24/7 sports: 35th overall
Cam Fletcher:
Status: signed
Position: 6’6 | Small Forward
Ranking: rivals- 41st overall | 24/7 sports: 46th overall
Other names to watch for either through commitments or reclassification. As Cal seeks to add a few more guy to make this maybe his deepest class in his career.
Guys to watch: Greg Brown, Paolo Banchero, Johnathan Kuminga, and whoever the top grad transfer will be.
Swaggy recruiting Cal is back. Drink it in UK fans. Drink it in.
side note: You may have a few more stars from this 2019 team back than you think but that deep march run we will make might change that. Time will tell.
Go cats!
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