Terrence Jones completed one of the more stunning recruitments in recent memory Wednesday night when he signed with Kentucky after initially making a verbal commitment to Washington.
“We chose Kentucky,” Linda Mashia-Jones, Terrence’s mother, wrote by text at 11:37 p.m.
She later added that Terrence just signed financial aid papers, not an NLI.
“Just fin[ancial] papers,” she wrote by text.
Jones himself later Tweeted: “Either way 1 fan base was gonna hate me ….sooo how much wud u care.”
He added: “Yeah most hated player n 2010 goes 2 me.”
Kentucky and Washington are both scheduled to play in this year’s Maui Invitational, although the draw has yet to be released.
The Jones news was first reported by Scout.com.
Jones made a verbal commitment to Washington during a press conference April 30 but never signed with the Huskies.
Even after the press conference, Jones spoke with Kentucky coach John Calipari and speculation arose that he was still considering Kentucky.
Linda added that Terrence stopped by the Washington campus Tuesday.
“Yesterday [he] rode up with a friend and stopped by UW to say hi,” she said.
Jones gives Kentucky a blockbuster recruiting class just one year after losing four freshmen to the NBA.
The Wildcats have already signed guards Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb; wing Stacey Poole; Turkish sensation Enes Kanter; and JUCO forward Eloy Vargas.
Kentucky now has three of the top 13 and four of the top 21 players in the Class of 2010, per Rivals: Kanter (3), Knight (6), Jones (13) and Lamb (21).
Calipari said last month on ESPNU that he hoped to bring in “five or six players” this year. He told the network that last year’s Kentucky team demonstrated that a group of young talented players can achieve great things if they come to school together with a willingness to work hard.
“If you want to go fast, go alone,” he told ESPNU. “If you want to go far, go together.”
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