Kentucky scored a huge commitment Thursday in the form of Wenyen Gabriel, the 6-foot-10, 195-pound forward from Wilbraham & Monson.
Ranked the No. 4 power forward in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports.com, Gabriel chose the Cats over Duke, UConn, Maryland and Providence.
“We [me and John Calipari] talk a lot,” Gabriel said in August. “He’s one of the few schools that would like me to play on the wing. Since he can bring in a lot of big guys, he can allow me to do that so that’s kind of appealing.”
“He loves Coach Cal and Coach [Tony] Barbee,” Wilbraham & Monson coach Mike Mannix said Thursday after the commitment. “Their goals and vision all come together nicely. Kentucky just got a great one. He will make the university very proud in all he does
“He played the 3, 4 and 5 last year,” Mannix added. “This year he will just be a 3 and 4. At Kentucky, he will be a full-time wing.”
Gabriel said this summer he would like to play on the wing.
“I’ll be able to develop my perimeter skills more,” he said. “Being on the wing is big for me so that’s where I see myself translating in the NBA. I see myself more at the small forward. Obviously, I’m not going to put on that much weight in one year to become a real power forward. I’ve always wanted to play on the wing so I’ve always worked on my guard skills, so that’s going to play a big role in my decision as well. I won’t be able to go into the NBA as a four.”
Mass Rivals coach Vin Pastore believes Gabriel has a huge upside.
“The change for Wenyen has been the 20 pounds he has put on in one year,” he said in August. “I think one year from now I’ll expect he’ll have 20 more pounds. He’s got another 20 pounds to go and that’s going to make all the difference.
“When you get a kid that’s 6-10 with his skill set and his motor, it’s inevitable that he’s got a huge, huge upside.”
Gabriel is Kentucky’s second commit in 2016 after forward Sacha Killeya-Jones.
Gabriel and Killeya-Jones — along with New Zealand big man Tai Wynyard, who arrives in December — will help offset the probable losses of Alex Poythress and perhaps Marcus Lee from the Kentucky front court.
Kentucky already has players this season from Australia (Isaac Humphries), Canada (Jamal Murray and Mychal Mulder), Haiti (Skal Labissiere) and New Zealand, and with Gabriel they next, they add a native of South Sudan.
