John Calipari says Kentucky plans to sign “five or six” players in the Class of 2017 and won’t comment on any of them until the class is complete.
“I’m not going to do it until we get everybody and then I’ll go through the five or six,” Calipari said Monday in advance of Tuesday’s game against No. 12 Michigan State in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
Kentucky on Monday landed 6-foot-6 combo guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of Chattanooga (TN) Hamilton Heights Christian Academy.
Last Thursday, the Wildcats got pledges from a pair of frontcourt players in 6-8 Findlay Prep (NV) forward P.J. Washington and 6-11 Nick Richards of The Patrick School (N.J.).
Kentucky also remains in the mix for Class of 2017 point guards Quade Green, who is also considering Syracuse, Duke, Villanova and Temple and will announce Nov. 19, and Trae Young, who is considering Oklahoma and Kansas, among others.
The Wildcats are also involved for wing Kevin Knox and 7-footer Mohamed Bamba, among others. Both Knox and Bamba plan to sign in the spring.
As usual, Kentucky figures to lose at least several players to the NBA Draft and graduation. Freshmen Bam Adebayo, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk are all projected first-round picks in 2017 by DraftExpress.com, while sophomores Isaiah Briscoe and Isaac Humphries are projected in the site’s 2018 draft.
Kentucky also loses seniors Derek Willis, Dominique Hawkins and Mychal Mulder to graduation.
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