Top Kentucky basketball target Dereck Lively cuts his list of college options
One of the fastest-rising basketball prospects in the 2022 class is starting to get a better feel for his recruitment, and the latest step in that process is a narrowed list of college options.
Dereck Lively II — a 7-footer from Pennsylvania and one of the most-buzzed-about players in the country over the past few months — announced Thursday night that he has whittled his choices to seven schools: Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, Michigan, Penn State and Southern Cal.
Lively, who is playing this summer on the Nike circuit and will be a senior at Westtown School (Pa.) this coming school year, was slotted at No. 14 overall in the recent update to the Rivals.com recruiting rankings, a rise of 31 spots on the national list. That ranking elevation reflects his growing stature in recruiting circles.
North Carolina extended a scholarship offer toward the end of Lively’s junior season, and Kentucky and Duke both did the same earlier this month. He’s already taken official visits to UNC and UK in June, with a trip to Duke this weekend next up on the schedule.
While there are obviously other schools on Lively’s list, it appears more likely that he will end up at one of the three traditional college basketball powers.
“I would expect the lure of the blue bloods to be big,” Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy told the Herald-Leader last week. “And I would expect him to land at a higher-profile program. I just don’t know which one.”
Kentucky has an especially intriguing pitch for Lively, who has drawn comparison to former UK standout Willie Cauley-Stein due to his versatility, mobility and upside as a post player. Coach John Calipari has had plenty of success helping similarly talented frontcourt prospects in the past, and UK’s record with players like Lively has been central to the program’s recruiting pitch.
There is no specific timetable for a college decision from Lively, who is playing this summer with Team Final, a Nike-affiliated program that also features Jalen Duren and Emoni Bates — the top two recruits in the 2022 class — as well as several other high-major college prospects. Team Final is likely to be the favorite at next month’s Nike Peach Jam finals, and Kentucky’s coaches will be in attendance for that event.
So far, there have not been any predictions on Lively’s 247Sports Crystal Ball or Rivals.com FutureCast pages, an indication of a fairly open recruitment heading into the summer.
