NCAA Basketball: Kentucky, Auburn and Duke leading contenders for B.J. Boston

Class of 2020 NCAA Basketball top-20 prospect B.J. Boston has recently added a team to his finalist list, Oregon, and scheduled a visit to Kentucky.

Consensus 2020 NCAA Basketball five-star guard/forward Brandon Boston Jr. told Rivals’ Eric Bossi recently that he is slated to take an official visit to Kentucky on July 25. Boston added that he is now considering Oregon in addition to the Wildcats, Duke, Auburn, and Florida.

Boston is a versatile and long athlete who is capable of playing the one through the three. The 6-6 175-pound wing possesses an excellent feel for the game and has the ability to score on all three levels as well as the capability to take over a game. Additionally, he is excellent in transition and is a good passer.

The Norcross (GA) native has seen a slight drop in the recruiting rankings over the past month-and-a-half. He fell one spot in both 247Sports Composite and ESPN rankings to 10th and seventh, respectively.

Boston has taken official visits to Duke (Oct. 19) and Florida (Oct. 26). Boston, who has become a priority for the Wildcats over the past couple of months, also has been on two unofficial visits to Kentucky. He took in the Wildcats 80-53 victory over Auburn during his last visit in February.

Since then, Kentucky has appeared to seize the momentum in his recruitment. Kentucky assistant Joel Justus made home visits on Feb. 27 and April 24. Boston also hosted head coach John Calipari for an in-home visit at the beginning of the spring recruiting period on April 13. Meanwhile,  Calipari, along with Justus and associate head coach Kenny Payne, watched Boston at the NBA Top 100 Camp and were expected courtside at the recently concluded Peach Jam.

Boston was named Second Team All-EYBL after averaging 22.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game on the Nike circuit this travel season. He took home MVP honors at the Nike EYBL stop in Dallas after averaging 27.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.2 assists back in the spring.

Boston’s recruitment seems to be a three-horse race between Kentucky, Duke, and Auburn. I believe Kentucky will win out.

Micah Peavy being prioritized by a handful of schools

2020 four-star small forward Micah Peavy currently holds nine scholarship offers. Although he is being prioritized by  Oregon, Texas Tech, Texas, and TCU, according to Evan Daniels of 247Sports. Arkansas and Michigan also have been recruiting him hard. Several other schools have shown interest in the 6-7 wing.

ESPN has Peavy rated the highest among the four major recruiting services at No. 33 in the class. He is a consensus top-75 player overall with 247Sports listing him as the 69th best player in the class while 247Sports Composite has him at No. 46. Meanwhile, Peavy is rated No. 36 in Rivals’ ratings.

Peavy had a nice spring Nike EYBL campaign, earning All-EYBL first-team honors after averaging 23.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game for Texas-based ProSkills. He shot 46.9% from the field. The Duncanville (Texas) native put up 27 points and grabbed 12 caroms in a game that Daniels watched at the Nike Peach Jam this past week.

Peavy is a high-energy two-way player who thrives at getting to the rim and rebounding. Shooting is an area that he wants to continue to improve. He has already become a better mid-range shooter.

Peavy has a taken official visits to Michigan and LSU and said that he plans on taking official visits to Oregon, Texas Tech and Texas this fall. There is no timetable for his decision, so we will have wait and see if he announces a finalist list. However, at this point, Texas Tech is seen as the overwhelming favorites for his services.

Other recruiting tidbits

• 2021 Javonte Brown (Pickering, Canada) had an impressive weekend at the UnderArmour championship and picked up a pair of offers from Providence and Texas A&M as a result. The 6-11 power forward now holds offers from Oklahoma, Tulane, Maryland, New Mexico, Seton Hall, Georgetown, and Ohio. He also has garnered interest from Kansas, Michigan, Illinois, UConn. Oregon, Indiana, Texas and Northwestern. Brown has strong fame and possesses good size and broad shoulders. The rising junior is a decent athlete who has a soft touch around the basket and maintains the physical tools to be a legitimate rim protector.
• 2021 Charles Bediako (St. Catherine, Ontario) picked up an offer from Ohio State on July 16. It is the fifth offer that the 6-11 Canadian center has received with the others from Ohio, Rutgers, Illinois, and Detroit. 247 Sports, 247Sports Composite and Rivals all have him rated as a top-75 player in the class. He averaged 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds for Team Canada during the recently completed U19 FIBA World Cup.
• 2020 three-star Zed Key (Glen Head, NY) continues to pick up offers as he nabbed one from USC on July 16. He now holds 31 offers.
• Four-star Josh Hall (Durham, NC), a consensus top-55 recruit, received an offer from Louisville and Western Kentucky on July 16. He now holds a whopping 37 scholarship offers.
• 2023 point guard Aden Halloway (Charlotte, NC) received his first major on July 16 from Syracuse.

• Shy Halloway (Chestnut Hill, MA) picked up an offer from Georgetown on July 16. The 6-5 wing also holds offers from Bryant and Tulane.
• Five-star point guard Khristian Lander (Evansville, IN) received an offer from Ole Miss and Murray State on July 16. He now holds 11 offers which include overtures from Florida, Louisville, Kansas State, and Kansas among others.
• Lamar Oden Jr. (Atlanta, GA) grabbed an offer from Drexel on July 16. Charleston Southern, Tennesee State, Florida A&M, Presbyterian, and Kennesaw State also have offered.