Kentucky basketball signee in top 10, and top target makes big move in final rankings
The final 247Sports rankings for the basketball class of 2021 are in, and Kentucky’s recruits stayed pretty much in the same spots.
Top UK signee Daimion Collins — a 6-foot-9 senior forward — remained the No. 10 overall player in the class after a senior season in which he averaged 35.2 points, 14.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 6.2 blocks per game and was named a First Team All-American by MaxPreps.com.
Kentucky’s other high school signee for next season, Chicago-area native Bryce Hopkins, moved up one spot to No. 39 overall. Hopkins — a 6-7, 220-pound wing — averaged 24.4 points and 12.5 rebounds per game and was named the Illinois state player of the year by MaxPreps.com.
In this unconventional recruiting cycle, Collins and Hopkins are the only two signees Kentucky has out of the 2021 class. UK had signed point guard Nolan Hickman, but he was granted a release from his national letter of intent after decommitting from the Cats last week. Hickman dropped five spots to the No. 41 overall spot in the 247Sports rankings.
John Calipari is still pursuing one more uncommitted player in the 2021 class: point guard TyTy Washington, who had a stellar senior season and moved up nine spots to the No. 16 overall position in the rankings.
Washington — a 6-3 prospect from Arizona — averaged 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists per game and joined Collins as one of five MaxPreps.com First Team All-America selections. He is scheduled to announce his college decision May 15 from a list of six finalists that includes UK, Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, Louisiana State and Oregon.
“I do think they have a shot,” 247Sports analyst Travis Branham told the Herald-Leader of UK’s chances Tuesday. “I don’t think they’re the current leader, but they’re definitely heavily in the mix. It’s been hard to gauge who the true leader is at this point. It’s kind of bounced back and forth over the past two months. In going down the stretch, it sounds like it’s too close to call at this point.”
Gonzaga signee Chet Holmgren, Duke signee Paolo Banchero and longtime UK target Jaden Hardy remained in the top three spots in the 247Sports rankings. Hardy is expected to announce later this month that he will turn pro straight out of high school.
Auburn signee Jabari Smith moved up one spot to the No. 4 overall ranking, with uncommitted forward Patrick Baldwin Jr. dropping one spot to the No. 5 position.
Nation’s No. 1 recruit looking for a place to play. Don’t expect it to be Kentucky.
Kentucky’s Davion Mintz declares for the NBA Draft. What’s next for the Cats?
Star point guard recruit Nolan Hickman is no longer committed to play for Kentucky
