NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing 5-star wing Chris Livingston final 4 teams

Chris Livingston is a consensus top-10 overall prospect in the 2022 NCAA Basketball recruiting class. A quality small forward with NBA-level size and skills already, this is a superstar in the making and has few, if any, real weaknesses in his game.

Livingston’s recruitment has been in the spotlight throughout the Summer, as the five-star recruit has taken several official visits to some of the viewed contenders. He had an original list of 10 options in consideration but now… we’re down to four.

Two of them aren’t surprises at all, as both Kentucky and Memphis have been in the running for Livingston since the beginning. But Georgetown and Tennessee State making the cut is interesting and as we’ve seen from prior decisions among five-star prospects, you should expect the unexpected.

https://twitter.com/_chrisliv24/status/1431673261725728775

Assuming Livingston does end up in NCAA Basketball (G League also still in consideration), which of them is the best potential landing spot? Here’s my opinion on what each team has to offer, including pros and cons.

Georgetown Hoyas

The Big East program does have five-star freshman Aminu Mohammad on the roster and he and Livingston would be one of the top duos in the country if the former stays for two years. Livingston would be a featured player for the Hoyas and likely leading scorer, although I’m not sure if they’d be a certain bet to make the NCAA Tournament unless he’s joined by other talent in the 2022 class.

Kentucky Wildcats

The Wildcats are looking to set up a mega 2022 class with current top-10 commit Skyy Clark, joined potentially by fellow top-10 targets, Cason Wallace, Shaedon Sharpe, and Livingston, as well as another five-star target in Adem Bona. There’s a ton to love about this option when it comes to NBA development and notable prestiege. However, if Kentucky can get most of its targets in the coming weeks, Livingston will have to sacrifice a lot when it comes to his role, as he may end up not being the No. 1 or 2 offensive option for the team.

Tennessee State Tigers

The Tigers are hoping that Livingston is willing to bypass blue-blood options to join the middle-of-the-road Ohio Valley program, who’ll need to win its conference tournament just to make the postseason. The biggest selling point from this team may well be Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), as incoming three-star freshman Hercy Miller (son of Mogul Master P) is set to make as much as 2 million dollars. If Livingston can make just as much, they could end up getting him.

Memphis Tigers

Speaking of NIL, that may have been the leading factor for Memphis recently landing five-star prospects Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren for the upcoming season. The Tigers and FedEx could give Livingston plenty of money as well but this five-star class of 2022 prospect likely won’t be able to play with Bates or Duren since they’ll both be gone. So can head coach Penny Hardaway land another mega recruiting class again with Livingston as the centerpiece?

There’s been a lot of talk about Livingston going pro so I personally won’t count that option out. But this very well could end up being a battle between Memphis and Kentucky for his services. With players reclassifying and moving around, it’s hard to tell which of those rosters will be best for Livingston but in terms of pure momentum, it’s hard to be doing better than Memphis right now.