Kentucky Basketball Recruiting Rumors: Nick Richards Prefers UK
The Kentucky basketball program missed out on DeAndre Ayton, but it could soon replace him with another five-star center: Nick Richards.
John Calipari has transformed the Kentucky basketball program into a sanctuary for the best high school players in the country. He routinely pulls in Top 5 recruiting classes, which includes the top-ranked 2016 group.
After missing out on the Top 2 recruits in the class of 2017, Coach Cal is rumored to be close to catching a break.
Kentucky missed out on DeAnte Ayton, the No. 1 recruit in the country, who spurned Lexington for a different breed of Wildcats: those from Arizona. Michael Porter Jr., the No. 2 recruit, has committed to the Washington Huskies.
According to Ben Roberts of Kentucky.com, the Wildcats are recovering from the loss of Ayton by emerging as the frontrunners to land another five-star center: Nick Richards.
“But now I think it’s probably Nick Richards,” Daniels told the Herald-Leader this week, noting that he still thinks UK is in great shape with Washington. “They appear to be in really good shape with Nick Richards. They certainly appear to be the favorite, but Nick hasn’t said that. So I guess we’ll see how it goes. Obviously this visit will be big for him.”
That’s a promising development.
Richards is No. 5 amongst centers and No. 12 overall on the 2017 ESPN 100. He’s No. 14 overall on 247Sports, No. 17 overall on Scout, and No. 6 amongst centers and No. 19 overall on the Rivals 150.
The consensus across the board is that Richards is a Top 20 overall player and a five-star recruit.
Richards was recently measured at 6’11” and 231 pounds with a 7’3″ wingspan. He’ll turn 19 years of age on November 29 and is one of the more physically intriguing players in this recruiting class.
Offensively, Richards utilizes his fluid athleticism to run the floor, fill the lane, and finish above the rim. Defensively, his size, length, and leaping ability allow him to block shots and crash the boards at a high level.
In terms of a player comparison, Richards is loosely comparable to former Kentucky star Willie Cauley-Stein.
Landing Richards would be a great start to the Wildcats’ class of 2017.
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