Kentucky Wildcats: John Calipari lands two five-star recruits
By Jacob Rude
It was only a matter of time before the Kentucky Wildcats and John Calipari started landing recruits.
On Thursday, they landed two.
First they nabbed Skal Labissiere, ranked #7 overall in the 2015 class. Quite literally minutes later, the top rated point guard in the class, Isaiah Briscoe, joined the Kentucky class.
Skal Labissiere committed to Kentucky.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) November 13, 2014
Isaiah Briscoe has committed to Kentucky.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) November 13, 2014
It what has essentially become a given, Kentucky has now vaulted itself into the #1 spot of recruiting classes, landing two recruits in our top 15.
Labissiere on ESPNU: "Since my freshman year, I always wanted to go there. I watched Coach Cal on TV." Says he'll sign Friday at noon.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_ATH) November 13, 2014
Big time day for Kentucky, as expected. This puts them in prime position to make a run at the nation's top class.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) November 13, 2014
We wrote yesterday that rumors were starting to circulate that Kentucky had a shot at landing both players. No matter how remote the idea seemed, John Calipari’s track record lent more than enough reason to believe this was a possibility.
Calipari’s history of pushing players into the NBA clearly had an effect on Briscoe, who talked about just that after choosing the Wildcats.
"“Coach Cal has a machine going on with getting point guards to the NBA,” Briscoe said on ESPNU, reeling off past proteges Derrick Rose and John Wall, among others. “I can see myself in that mold.”"
The duo will join Charles Matthews, #51 overall and the #15 shooting guard in the class. With a host of players likely to leave for the NBA from Kentucky this season, Calipari can likely continue to bring in recruits with a plethora of scholarships to be available.