Adidas/Courtesy Kentucky and coach John Calipari might not be in great a position to land 5-star sensation Zion Williamson as previously thought. Kansas and Bill Self are making a major push.
UK Basketball Recruiting: Has Kansas surged ahead for 5-star Zion Williamson?
Kyle Tucker
Kyle Tucker
@KyleTucker_AJC
Posted 1 day ago
LEXINGTON, Ky. — It looks like John Calipari and Kentucky are going to be in for a fight to land the services of 5-star sensation Zion Williamson. Bill Self and Kansas have the most muscle to knock the Wildcats out of contention for the 6-foot-7, 250-pound small forward who is ranked as high as No. 1 overall in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports, and now the Jayhawks are starting to flex it.
Andrew Slater, a supremely plugged-in recruiting insider for 247, raised eyebrows this week when he changed his “Crystal Ball” prediction for Williamson from Kentucky to Kansas. The Cats had become favorites to land the slam-dunking YouTube star after he and 5-star point guard Immanuel Quickley (a heavy UK lean) openly discussed their desire to play together in college.
Not so fast, Slater tells SEC Country.
“I think Kansas makes sense,” he said, “from the perspective of his relationship with [5-star point guard] Devon Dotson, who may wind up [committing to Kansas] fairly soon, his strong connection to Adidas [Williamson plays on that shoe-company’s AAU circuit] and Kansas’ ability to showcase players like him, as they did with Josh Jackson [No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft]. He also has a strong relationship with Bill Self.”
RELATED: Zion must be seen (in person) to be believed
Now, for a few key pieces of background information: 1) Dotson, a Jayhawks lean, suddenly joined Williamson’s team for the final week of the AAU season at the end of July. 2) Kansas is the highest-profile basketball program sponsored by Adidas. 3) It is in both the school and shoe company’s best interest to outduel Nike-sponsored Kentucky for top prospects."
We have Nice Oscar. Mediocrity is our normal. Mizzou jettisoned Nice Kim for the muckpit