After seeing guards Hamidou Diallo, Tremont Waters and Lonnie Walker this week, Kentucky coach John Calipari will watch Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick’s big man Nick Richards and have a home visit with him on Thursday, a source said.
Calipari visited Richards twice this year at St. Patrick’s, a school where the Kentucky coach has found a lot of success. The Wildcats snagged guards Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Dakari Johnson from the New Jersey Catholic powerhouse that also produced former Duke star Kyrie Irving.
“They don’t call me, they call me family,” Richards said last month at the Elite 24 Game. “They can make me better as a person. They can make me better in basketball and my overall personality as a person, to be honest.”
Richards is also considering Syracuse, UConn, Arizona and Indiana.
“Whenever the time is right, I’ll pick a school,” he said. “The same top five schools are working the hardest.”
After visiting Richards at S. Pat’s, Calipari is expected to hit the Ranney School (N.J.) for 2019 guards Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine of Team Rio, whom he also watched this summer.
Calipari has so far visited several high-profile 2017 targets, including Mohamed Bamba, Kevin Knox and John Petty last Friday and Trae Young and P.J. Washington over the weekend, according to the Herald-Leader and other reports.
On Monday, Calipari visited with Putnam Science (CT) shooting guard Hamidou Diallo, a top 2017 target.
“We want you and you would be a great fit,” was Calipari’s message according to Putnam coach Tom Espinosa.
As first reported here, Diallo will be eligible for the 2017 NBA Draft, but has said he wants to go the college route. UConn , Arizona and Syracuse are among those also involved. UConn’s Kevin Ollie was in on Friday and Arizona’s Sean Miller on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Calipari met with Notre Dame (CT) point guard Tremont Waters and Reading (PA) wing Lonnie Walker.
Waters is also considering Duke, Indiana and Yale, among others, while Walker has a final five of Kentucky, Arizona, Miami, Syracuse and Villanova.
Meantime, Calipari and assistant Tony Barbee were set to see Neumann-Goretti (PA) point guard Quade Green on Wednesday after Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and Gerry McNamara were in on Monday.
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