Having Orlando Antigua, right, back on the Kentucky staff is going to elevate UK recruiting. (UK Athletics Photo) The UK men's basketball team plays in the blue-white scrimmage on Tuesday, October 28, 2013 in Lexington's Rupp Arena. Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics
It certainly is no surprise that Southeastern Conference coaches ranked Kentucky basketball in a place of its own when it comes to recruiting. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello used some anonymous quotes from coaches about SEC basketball recruiting and one coach made it clear that athletes want to get to the NBA and that no one has shown he can help players more than Kentucky coach John Calipari.
Even some of his ‘lower-level’ guys still get looked at, because when you play at a program like Kentucky, they’re pro-ready. People look at you differently when you consistently develop pros — and it’s tenfold for Kentucky. The tradition of Kentucky basketball. You walk into that arena, it’s different. The way they travel. It’s all at a different level than everyone else, one coach told Borzello.
But another coach made it clear how teams try to negatively recruit against UK and use the pressure of BBN and even past success to try and persuade players not to pick Kentucky.
“The pressure is the only thing. You’re not doing anything there that somebody else hasn’t already done unless you go undefeated and win a national championship. So you can get lost in the fold. You go to a different school in the league and you create a legacy. We’ve been able to use that in the past. You won’t be under as much pressure, you’ll be remembered at a much higher level, the rival SEC coach told ESPN.
Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, and Arkansas were in the group below Kentucky while the third group had LSU and Auburn. Missouri, Georgia, and Texas A&M were in Tier 4 of recruiting while the bottom group — which was no surprise — had Vanderbilt, Mississippi, South Carolin, and Mississippi State.
From what we have seen so far with Kentucky’s recruiting for 2022 is that the arrival of assistant coaches Orlando Antigua and Chin Coleman is going to raise UK recruiting back to the spot it was a few years ago based on what seems to already be happening.
