NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Ranking No. 1 prospect Jalen Duren’s final 5 options
By Ian Mumm
Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky has had itself quite the offseason and is primed to have a strong 2021 season in the Fall. With the 7th-best recruiting class in the nation, Coach Calipari has signed frontcourt pieces Daimion Collins and Bryce Hopkins. However, Cal has been consistently relying on the transfer portal to fulfill frontcourt depth over the last several seasons and has signed former West Virginia big man Oscar Tshiebwe.
Recently, Illinois center Kofi Cockburn withdrew his name from the draft and has also entered the transfer portal. Early reports have indicated there may be a possible link to the Wildcats which would further their depth at the position. Doing so would increase their depth so much that it would likely force someone to transfer out of the program to escape the logjam.
Duren is an incredible talent on the floor. He is very athletic, pulls down rebounds at a very high rate, and can score the ball in various ways. He will be a vital addition to the Kentucky roster, however, if Cockburn joins the fray next to Tshiebwe the possibility of Duren moving to Lexington begins to dwindle quickly.
While the on-court fit at Kentucky is strong and would undoubtedly set Duren up for success at the next level, there is a lot more uncertainty associated with this move related to playing time than anything else. There are no concerns that the Kentucky fan base would help make Duren one of the highest-paid athletes in the nation with NIL deals and sales on the other hand. The hesitation is that Duren more than likely still takes the direct step to the professional ranks.