Recruiting: Three schools in the mix for 2017’s DeAndre Ayton
Recruiting is starting to heat up during the first July live period as DeAndre Ayton has three schools interested in his services.
Back in April, during the spring live recruiting period, the number one recruit in the class of 2017, 7’0″ DeAndre Ayton, mentioned that Kansas was the only school that was interested in his services.
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This was rather odd given that Ayton is a five-star recruit, could be the number one pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, and might be the best high school player in the country regardless of class. In fact, the Bahamas native is expected to be a rare big man that has great mobility and fluidity, and an excellent ability to play both inside and out.
There is two possible reasons why Kansas was the only school interested: 1) There has been rumors that Ayton might take the path of Emmanuel Mudiay and Terrance Ferguson and play one season overseas, 2) Ayton has eligibility questions as he has already attempted to play at numerous different high schools.
His talent seems to be outweighing the questions now though.
Ayton, who is now being coveted by Kentucky and Arizona, in addition to Kansas, spoke to reporters at the Nike Peach Jam on Thursday, crushing the rumors and revealing the three schools that are now pushing for his services.
"Kentucky and Arizona have jumped back into Ayton’s recruitment in recent weeks. He visited Arizona last month, and that program is trying to sell him on becoming the first No. 1 draft pick in school history.“There’s no overseas,” Ayton said to Kentucky.com. “I’m going to college. It’s a must…I just want to go to college and get the experience. I really want to win a national championship. Get a chance, even though I’m one and done. I would love to be in that atmosphere.”"
Ayton mentioned that he did miss high school classes last year, but is currently making up his work with summer classes.
So what made Kentucky and Arizona jump right into the picture? Is it truly about the talent superseding the questions? Or do these programs have some valuable insight?
Ayton has been speaking to the NCAA regarding his eligibility, and they say he is on track to play in 2017. But that certainly isn’t a guarantee and it doesn’t crush the notion that he could dash for a league overseas.
And then there’s the Thon Maker case. The Sudan native didn’t play college basketball (circumventing the NBA Draft rules), opted not to participate in the NBA Combine and withdrew from the Nike Hoop Summit event.
Does Ayton want to hide himself from NBA scouts to avoid risking his stock like Skal Labissiere?
Then there are questions about his motor. Does Ayton truly want to be great? He has all the tools – size, outside shot, rebounding ability, playmaking ability – but sometimes his motor runs low and he lacks the toughness necessary to compete on the interior.
Regardless of everything surrounding Ayton, Kentucky head coach John Calipari is intrigued.
"UK’s coaches told Ayton that they want to start building a relationship with him going forward and that they’d “love” for him to be a Wildcat. He said he thinks of “greatness” when he thinks of UK’s program.“They build NBA players,” he said. “Everybody that goes there is pretty good, and they just work on them. They turn them into NBA players, superstars.”"
But it just seems like the Wildcats aren’t all in like they are with PSA Cardinals big man Mohammad Bamba or The Rens guard Hamidou Diallo.
Maybe it’s because Ayton is two years away and the school has confidence in their staff, but still it’s a unique, interesting scenario.
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Ayton has all the skills and talent to be one of the best gets in college basketball in two years, however, his path to the next level will be an interesting one that is expected to be filled with twists and turns.