Kentucky was always going to make noise in the recruiting class of 2017. Now we’re starting to hear precisely how that noise will sound.
The Wildcats added their first member of the current high school senior class when 5-star big man Nick Richards committed to Kentucky in a ceremony at The Patrick School on Thursday afternoon. Richards picked Kentucky ahead of fellow finalists Syracuse and Arizona, becoming the first major recruit to pledge his future to Wildcats’ coach John Calipari in this recruiting cycle. The Jamaican-born Richards will also become the seventh foreign-born player to sign with Kentucky across the prior two recruiting classes.
“I want to play at the highest level and Kentucky always said that they are the highest level in college basketball,” Richards to ESPN college basketball insider Jeff Borzello.
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Richards picked Kentucky by unveiling a pair of Kentucky-themed shoes on the table in front of him, as you can see in the Tweet above.
At 6-foot-11 and 250 pounds, Richards is both very tall and already on the path to a college-ready body. He’s the star of the Patrick School, which will hope to upset USA TODAY Super 25-ranked St. Benedict and the rest of the Northeast power elite. After that, Richards will apparently head to Lexington, where he could team up with fellow 5-star prospect and Findlay Prep star P.J. Washington, depending on Washington’s collegiate choice to come later Thursday.
