Kylan Boswell will be playing Paducah Jan. 7 and Jan. 8. (USA Basketball Photo)
Mustang Madness at McCracken County High School in Paducah will feature some of the nation’s top players but one that University of Kentucky fans might want to pay attention to is Arizona Compass guard Kylan Boswell. His teammate, 6-7 junior forward Mookie Cook, already has a scholarship offer from Kentucky and the Wildcats have also shown interest in Boswell, a five-star point guard and consensus top 15 player in the 2023 recruiting class.
His team won the Peach Jam Championship last summer and he also won a gold medal with the USA Basketball at the FIBA Americas Under 16 Championship when he averaged 9.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game in August.
Boswell transferred to Arizona Compass — the same school where UK freshman TyTy Washington played last season — this year and has scholarship offers from Arizona, Auburn, Creighton, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and others.
“Kylan is a no-brainer,” said Pete Kaffey, program director at Arizona Compass. “I am always going to advocate for my kids but I don’t see another kid in high school that shoots better than him because he puts in the work.
“Every day after practice he has got to make 500 3’s. He is in there usually for two hours shooting. He’s a great kid from a great family. If he is not the No. 1 guard in his class or top two, then something is not right (with the recruiting rankings).”
Kaffey has no doubt he’s a top 10 player nationally but says there “ain’t many guards better than him” for a lot of reasons.
“He plays with great pace. He’s a great passer. His passing ability is so underrated,” Kaffey said. “He is also a monster defensively on the ball. He will guard you 94 feet. He still has to get better off the ball defensively and learn to take charges. That’s one thing TyTy learned last year.”
Arizona Compass will play Orangeville Prep of Canada January 7 at 8:30 p.m. CST and take on Prolific Prep of California at 7 p.m. CST on January 8. Kaffey encourages fans to take the time to watch Boswell play.
“The same energy I had about TyTy a year ago, I have about him. The blue bloods (of college basketball) are going to come late. I am at practice with him. I know what he can do. He’s in the gym at 6 a.m. working.
“He has NBA range on his shot. I will go to my grave saying that. He can shoot the basketball. When he misses a shot, it’s a surprise. He was not always that consistent but his mechanics have gotten better as he has gotten older. He’s in there shooting a lot with his father and that joker can flat-out shoot. He can make shots at a high level that really stretches a defense out and more schools are going to be paying attention to him soon.”
