Shaivonte Alexander committed to Kentucky (Photo: Jon Lopez, Nike)
The Kentucky basketball 2017 recruiting class grew to three members on Monday morning.
Four-star guard Shai Alexander announced UK as his future school on Twitter, giving the Wildcats their first perimeter player in the class.
— Shai Alexander (@shaiglalex) November 14, 2016
Five-star frontcourt duo Nick Richards and P.J. Washington chose Kentucky last week.
The 6-4, 160-pound Alexander, the No. 43 player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite ranking, was a one-time Florida commitment. The native of Chattanooga, Tenn. (Hamilton Heights Christian Academy) chose Kentucky over finalists Texas, Syracuse and UNLV.
Kentucky had the sixth-best 2017 class, according to Scout.com, before Alexander’s announcement. The top five: Arizona, Alabama, Auburn, Washington and UCLA. The Wildcats are expected to take three or four more prospects in the class, so keeping their streak alive – UK has finished first or second in the Scout.com team rankings eight years in a row. – is likely.
Two point guard prospects stand out as potential additions: Trae Young (five-star, Norman, Okla.) and Quade Green (five-star, Philadelphia, Penn.). Young, who officially visited Lexington last month for Big Blue Madness, is said to be deciding in the spring. Green, who lists UK, Villanova, Syracuse and others, is expected to make a decision Nov. 19.
Wing targets include: Lonnie Walker (five-star, Reading, Penn.) and Hamidou Diallo (five-star, Queens Village, N.Y.) and post players Mohamed Bamba (five-star, New York, N.Y.), Kevin Knox (five-star, Tampa, Fla.) and Jarred Vanderbilt (five-star, Bellaire, Texas) would still be in play.
