NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing Scottie Barnes’ final eight

Kentucky Wildcats

Head coach John Calipari has been one of the best recruiters in the country for the past several years. And while this will obviously play a role in the direct recruitment of Barnes, it is important to also mention the potential of building a team around him. With the amount of roster turnover that Kentucky usually experiences, it is impossible to know any of what the 2020-21 roster will look like.

With that said, Coach Cal does have a tremendous amount of recruiting flexibility due to that turnover. With regards to this particular recruitment, Barnes could become the face of UK’s 2020 class with an early commit. If that turns out to be the case, Coach Cal can work around Barnes’ skillset and snag those top prospects that fit his game the best. This was also addressed by Barnes a bit when asked about his contacts with other top players in the class and if he might want to team up with them:

"“I talk to some. I have a good friendship with a lot of the guys in my class and we are really close,” he said. “We really like each other so there is a chance. I would need a point guard and a big that can stretch the floor a little, too.”"

Due to the recruiting prowess of Coach Cal, it is reasonable to assume that he would be able to check those boxes over the coming months. Kentucky is arguably the best NBA pipeline in the country (and I mean that with regards to preparing athletes for their professional careers as well) and Barnes is certainly headed to the next level soon. UK is often involved in the recruitment of elite players and Barnes could be the next top commitment.