College basketball signing period wrap: Kentucky among the biggest recruiting winners
College basketball’s early signing period for recruits in the 2022 class ends Wednesday, and nearly all of the top prospects in the country have already made their decisions.
According to the 247Sports composite rankings, only one top-10 prospect and just three top-25 players remain unsigned going into the winter. Such recruits can commit to a school at any time moving forward, though they won’t be able to officially sign with their colleges until April.
Kentucky and Duke are at the top of the national recruiting lists, some of UK’s Southeastern Conference rivals have put together great classes, and the lack of available elite talent means there will be little room for movement in the 2022 team rankings.
Here’s a look at where things stand with the early signing period in the rearview mirror.
Top classes
Kentucky: The Wildcats had the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in America before it was revealed that top signee Shaedon Sharpe planned to enroll early at UK, a move that will lead the national sites to reclassify him into 2021. Still, this four-man signing class represents the de facto No. 1 class nationally, with Sharpe (No. 1 in the 2022 class before his move) expecting to practice with the team during the second semester and make his debut next season alongside Chris Livingston (No. 5), Cason Wallace (No. 6) and Skyy Clark (No. 16).
Duke: The Blue Devils ascend to the No. 1 spot in the rankings with Sharpe’s early enrollment, and they also signed a four-player class, led by Dereck Lively II (the new No. 1 in 2022), Dariq Whitehead (No. 4), Kyle Filipowski (No. 7) and Jaden Schutt (No. 55). Duke could also add Mark Mitchell (No. 15), an addition that would have moved its class past Kentucky’s, even if Sharpe had stayed in 2022.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks now have the No. 2 class in the country, led by in-state star Nick Smith Jr. (No. 8), a one-time Kentucky target. Coach Eric Musselman has five commitments for next season, all of them Top 100 players and three of them from inside the state. Previously known as a master of the transfer market, Musselman appears to have the Hogs headed back to the top of the SEC next season with more traditional recruits.
Alabama: Another five-player class, the Tide picked up five-star commitments from former UK targets Brandon Miller (No. 10) and Jaden Bradley (No. 17), along with two other top-70 players and big man Nick Pringle, the No. 2 junior-college prospect in the country. That’s good enough for the No. 3 class. Coach Nate Oats has made a major impact on Bama’s program in his short time there, and that success appears likely to continue.
UCLA: This group is a little further down the rankings — No. 10 on the 247Sports team list — but that’s partly because the Bruins have only three commitments. They made the most of that group, which includes Amari Bailey (the No. 2 player in America), former UK target Adem Bona (possibly underrated at No. 18) and point guard Dylan Andrews (No. 43). UCLA joins UK, Duke, Bama, Arkansas, Oregon and Texas as the programs with multiple five-star signees for 2022.
Top recruits
Dereck Lively II (Duke): The future Blue Devil — formerly a major Kentucky target — took over the No. 1 spot vacated by Shaedon Sharpe, who said this week that he would also rank Lively tops in 2022 now that he’s off to college early. A versatile 7-footer who can protect the rim and stretch the floor, Lively will be one of the top early candidates to be No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
Amari Bailey (UCLA): A 6-foot-5 combo guard from the Los Angeles area, Bailey holds the No. 2 ranking in the 2022 class but is now something of an unknown in recruiting circles. He opted out of AAU ball this past summer, and the COVID-19 pandemic prevented evaluations during the last high school season, so analysts have been unsure what to think of him relative to the national rankings. If he shows this season what he did earlier in his career, he could easily end up as the nation’s No. 1 recruit.
Keyonte George (Baylor): There aren’t many players in the 2022 class who are more fun to watch than George, classified as a shooting guard but with the skills to take the lead in the halfcourt offense and the athleticism to wreak havoc in transition. George seems as college ready as any player at the very top of the 2022 rankings, and he was a major in-state pickup for the reigning national champs.
Dariq Whitehead (Duke): Another Blue Devils signee, Whitehead has played for defending national champion Montverde (Fla.) Academy since the eighth grade and has ample experience going up against the best competition in the country. The 6-6 wing is seen as a great defender who has the athleticism and feel to guard multiple positions and make an impact on the offensive end of the court.
Chris Livingston (Kentucky): With Sharpe moving on to 2021 in the official rankings, that leaves Livingston as the top-rated player in UK’s 2022 class at No. 5 overall. An athletic, physical and skilled 6-7 wing, Livingston moves to Oak Hill Academy (Va.) for his senior season and should be an instant-impact college freshman capable of playing multiple roles in Lexington next season.
Biggest winner
Jon Scheyer: Sorry, Kentucky fans — and the rest of the college basketball world hoping to see Duke take a step backward — but what Scheyer was able to pull off with this 2022 class before ever coaching a game is pretty remarkable. Signing three top-10 recruits — including beating out UK for the nation’s No. 1 player — plus the addition of a sharp-shooting guard (and maybe one more five-star prospect down the road) showed everyone that the Blue Devils will remain just as formidable on the recruiting trail, even with Mike Krzyzewski’s upcoming retirement. Scheyer will have to win games to sustain his recruiting success, obviously, but with players like this, it’ll make what otherwise could have been a difficult transition a whole lot easier.
SEC superlatives
Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas all have top 10 national classes, giving the SEC more in that category than any other conference. (The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 all have two each, with Kansas representing the Big 12, as well).
And there’s plenty of additional incoming talent spread throughout Kentucky’s league.
In addition to Shaedon Sharpe, the SEC has a total of eight commitments from top 25 recruits, with Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and Louisiana State all landing at least one each. The league has 10 of the nation’s top 50 players and 18 of the top 100 prospects in the country.
All told, seven programs in the conference have at least one recruit from the national Top 100, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
A notable omission from that list is Tennessee, which has enjoyed considerable recruiting success in recent years but, as of now, has just one commitment for the 2022 cycle: Knoxville point guard BJ Edwards, who is the No. 103 overall prospect in the class.
Louisville recruiting
Following top-30 national classes in each of Chris Mack’s first three recruiting cycles as U of L’s head coach, the Cardinals are ranked No. 82 in the country and dead last in the ACC for 2022.
Coming out of the early signing period, Louisville has just two commitments for next season. The first was Indianapolis small forward Tae Davis, the younger brother of Cards sophomore Dre Davis and the No. 142 overall player in the class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
“He will add size and length on the wing in our interchangeable system,” Mack said of the new signee. “His ability to guard multiple positions on the floor as well as present mismatches offensively is a big plus for our program. He comes from an incredibly supportive family, and we look forward to the practice battles with his older brother D’Andre every day next season.”
Louisville’s latest commitment is from Bahamas native Fredrick King, a 6-10 center and a standout player on the NBA Academy circuit for international prospects. King is unranked by the recruiting services but has intriguing upside, so his addition to this class is not reflected in the national team rankings but could greatly impact the program’s future.
“Fredrick is a home run signing for us,” Mack said. “Although a virtual unknown, he won’t be for long. … He is a modern big in that he can run, dunk, shoot, pass and play on the perimeter as well as around the hoop. We believe Fredrick isn’t finished growing and will become one of the best big men in the ACC somewhere during his time at Louisville.”
U of L is also one of three college finalists — along with Arizona State and Memphis — for four-star forward Kamari Lands, the No. 48 player in the national rankings and the seventh-best available player in the 2022 class, according to that list. Lands is also considering the professional route out of high school. He took an official visit to Louisville a couple of weeks ago and is expected to make a decision sometime this winter.
Who’s left?
Only three players in the national top 25 remain uncommitted.
Yohan Traore: A 6-10 center, Traore is the nation’s top available recruit — No. 9 in the 2022 rankings — and, although he still has a long list of possibilities, Memphis and the professional route are seen as the top two options at this time. Notably, Memphis has zero Top 100 commitments and just one pledge overall for next season. Penny Hardaway and the Tigers had the No. 1 recruiting class in 2021 thanks to the late additions of Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren. (Memphis also had the No. 1 class in 2019).
Mark Mitchell: A versatile 6-8 forward, Mitchell is a Kansas native, and his recruitment has basically come down to a Duke vs. UCLA battle. He’s expected to make a commitment soon, and he’ll be joining a talented class of recruits either way he chooses. Mitchell is ranked No. 15 nationally.
Anthony Black: Listed as a 6-7 combo guard, Black is a Swiss Army knife of a player who some see as a point guard at the next level. Whatever position the Texas native plays in college, he’s sure to have an impact right away, and he could be considerably underrated at No. 24 nationally. (He was once a high-major college football recruit before recently turning his sole focus to basketball). Gonzaga and Oklahoma State have been the colleges mentioned the most in recent weeks — with the G League also being an option — and a decision could come sometime soon. The Cowboys picked up a new prediction from Rivals.com national analyst Rob Cassidy earlier this week.
Odds and ends
▪ Jon Scheyer isn’t the only high-profile new coach at a major program. A few others also have nice recruiting classes in their first cycle in charge: North Carolina’s Hubert Davis (No. 9 ranking), Indiana’s Mike Woodson (No. 17) and Texas’ Chris Beard (No. 24) all have top 25 classes. Both of the Longhorns’ commitments are five-star recruits: point guard Arterio Morris (No. 22) and small forward Dillon Mitchell (No. 27).
▪ How about Vanderbilt? The Commodores are 6-28 in SEC play in two seasons under Coach Jerry Stackhouse so far, and they finished 42nd and 65th in the past two recruiting cycles. For 2022, they have the No. 22 class nationally, with four total commitments and three ranked inside the top 120 nationally. Vandy’s class ranks No. 5 in the SEC, as of now.
▪ As previously mentioned, Memphis has zero Top 100 recruits in this cycle after landing the nation’s No. 1 class in two of the past three years. There’s still time for Penny Hardaway, who is firmly in the mix for big man Yohan Traore (No. 9 recruit) and combo guard Zion Cruz (No. 29 nationally), among other lesser-ranked players. If Memphis were able to land Traore and Cruz, the Tigers would move to No. 15 in the class rankings. Hardaway has also had success with postseason reclassifications, so Memphis is always worth watching in recruiting.
▪ There are zero Top 100 national recruits from the state of Kentucky in the 247Sports composite rankings for the 2022 class. In fact, those rankings extend to 318 total prospects, and not one of them is a Kentucky high school player. The state will be better represented in the 2023 rankings. There are three Top 100 prospects from Kentucky in the junior class — led by major UK target Reed Sheppard — and two more ranked in the top 200.
▪ An intriguing note about this 2022 class: with 22 of the top 25 recruits already committed, none have chosen the professional route. Three of the top 25 players in the 2021 class went straight to the pros, while four of the top 25 prospects in the 2022 class skipped college for professional options. Obviously, the name, image and likeness reforms enacted this past offseason are helping college basketball fend off the pros for the top stars, but it will be interesting to see if any of these already-committed high school seniors ultimately take a pro contract instead of enrolling in the college of their choice.
