NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Analyzing top 12 teams for 5-star Meleek Thomas

Tennessee Volunteers

The Vols could be a sneaky option for Thomas, who’d be a natural fit for Coach Rick Barnes. The team also won’t have starting point guard Zakai Zeigler after two years, which opens the door nicely for this five-star option. They’ve had success before with top prospects like Kennedy Chandler but the offensive system hasn’t been great for previous players, which could be a potential issue here.

UConn Huskies

Coming off winning a national title, the Huskies are going to be a premium option for any regional prospect. They’re going to lose senior point guard Tristen Newton after next season and most likely the same with five-star freshman, Stephon Castle. Thomas would be the highest-ranked commit ever for Coach Dan Hurley and the sign that the program is now in “elite” status.

Villanova Wildcats

As I said about UConn after winning a national title, that has already happened to Villanova in the past five years. Thought that was with former HC Jay Wright and he’s now gone so Kyle Neptune has to prove that he can be the guy to keep the Big East program as a national contender.

After things did not necessarily work out with former five-star prospect Cam Whitmore, it’ll be interesting to see how future targets look at Villanova. But if Thomas wants to remain in the state of Pennsylvania and play for a consistent contender, then this could be a viable option after all.