NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Kentucky still favorite to land Kerry Blackshear?

Teams in the running to land Kerry Blackshear

Kentucky, Florida, and Texas A&M have basically been involved in Blackshear’s recruitment from the beginning. Blackshear took his first campus visit ye to Florida (June 6) and then the news came out that the Arkansas Razorbacks are now a possible destination, according to the Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Goodman added that Gonzaga and Tennessee are trying to get involved as well.

Not sure it really matters if anyone else gets involved, although Blackshear would fit nicely with the Zags. But ultimately, it will likely come down to whether he wants to go “back home” to Florida or would he rather play for John Calipari at Kentucky. It appears that Texas A&M is out of consideration because one would think that if Blackshear really wanted to be an Aggie, he would have already signed.

Blackshear had an in-home visit with Calipari in April.

Tennessee is an interesting case as the Volunteers do need some frontcourt help. The Volunteers currently have a full roster meaning that someone on scholarship would have to leave, if Blackshear does agree to go to Knoxville.

The question ultimately becomes does Blackshear find the Vols appealing enough without Jordan Bone and Grant Williams, both of whom remained in the NBA draft. Coach Rick Barnes filled those two spots with transfers Victor Bailey Jr. and Uros Plavsic, however, neither of those players are eligible to play this upcoming season.

Gonzaga is in a similar situation as Tennessee, but with a lot more talent. The Bulldogs lost a boatload of experience and talent, however, they brought in a great recruiting class, including grad transfer Admon Gilder, and caught a break with the return of Killian Tillie. Plus, the Zags still have former four-star recruits Corey Kispert and Filip Petrusev — both of whom had solid seasons last year.

Gonzaga currently has two scholarships available following the recent departure of freshman point guard Greg Foster Jr. The Bulldogs are also in the mix for grad transfer Derryck Thornton, who took a campus visit at the end of May, and Stanford sit-out transfer Cormac Ryan. Ryan averaged 8.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists for the Cardinal last season as he shot  33.3% from the field. He is reportedly considering is considering Butler, Davidson, Marquette, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Penn, Texas, Villanova, Virginia, and Yale as well.

I believe that the allure of Kentucky is just too much for Blackshear to pass up, so that is where I think he will ultimately end up. Florida is a close second even though I do believe Gonzaga could overtake the Gators for the second spot if they get involved.