Kentucky Basketball: Ashton Hagans adds to incoming star power for 2018-19
Ashton Hagans improved Kentucky’s 2018-19 outlook by reclassifying, joining the Wildcats a year earlier than planned.
The Kentucky Wildcats didn’t need to look far for a boost for the coming season. They just needed to look into the future and towards Ashton Hagans.
The five-star point guard decided to reclassify on Friday, accelerating his timeline to join the Wildcats next season, rather than as a member of the Class of 2019.
While there are no new rankings responding to the reclassification, Hagans was one of the top 20 recruits in the Class of 2019, according to ESPN. His sudden arrival gives John Calipari a potential star at point guard.
As per usual, Kentucky will have an embarrassment of riches in the form of a loaded freshman recruiting class. The potential for tension exists too, though; Immanuel Quickley was seen as the heir apparent at point guard. Now, the two will be in a constant competition for minutes in Calipari’s rotation.
Outside of Duke’s impressive recruiting pulls this year, Kentucky again led the country on the recruiting trail. With a handful of five-star recruits, Calipari’s squad sports Final Four aspirations.
They’re still waiting for what could be the biggest transfer decision of the offseason. Former Stanford star Reid Travis is considering the Wildcats among his list of teams to join next season. The program that wins Travis immediately jumps into the next tier of 2018-19 contenders.
Travis would provide immediate dividends, but Kentucky fans should have a much more optimistic long-term view of Hagans. Calipari has developed some major stars at point guard, including John Wall and De’Aaron Fox; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is likely to be a lottery selection in the 2018 NBA Draft.
First, he needs to earn minutes over Quickley. Jason Jordan of USA Today High School Sports believes Hagans has what it takes to come out on top on the depth chart.
Regardless, they’ll have an embarrassment of riches at the point guard position next season.
Next: 10 teams who could win their first national title in 2019
Ashton Hagans may be enough to push Kentucky above the pack and into the Final Four.