Kentucky Basketball: Surveying Wildcats' Chances with Top 2015 Recruits

With college football ramping up, basketball is trapped in its wake until season-opening events start taking place. Kentucky's Big Blue Madness is one of the best of those basketball bacchanals, and it's a night that recruits in attendance won't soon forget.

Commitments throughout the class of 2015 are beginning to come fast and furious, but some of the elite prospects are still waiting. They're planning official visits, hosting coaches in their own homes and, oh yeah, preparing to play their senior seasons of high school ball. They don't want to discuss recruiting until April.

With Kentucky and coach John Calipari always in the mix for the best of the best, movement may be slow on many of their primary targets. Some players are open and efficient about advancing their process, seeking to end the distraction early. Many, however, leave precious few crumbs of information and are content to wait until season's end if they see the need.

Read on for a look at 14 players who are most closely linked with UK, the recent developments in their recruitments and a purely nonscientific estimate of how confident Kentucky fans should feel about landing that player. (Bearing in mind, of course, that a 10 is impossible until a player has signed a letter of intent.)

Carlton Bragg

Power Forward; 6'8", 205 pounds; Cleveland, Ohio

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 15 overall, No. 5 PF

Current list: Top Five (Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA)

Ohio forward Carlton Bragg is one of the 2015 class' most determined athletes, the kind who will fight to make plays on either end of the court. His athleticism and two-way potential should remind Kentucky fans of 2012 national champion Terrence Jones.

Kentucky and Kansas are widely considered the leaders for Bragg's signature, ranking No. 1 and No. 2 on his 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions. Lest anyone get too confident, however, take a look at No. 3. Ohio State drew a whopping 26 percent of Bragg's predictions, yet the in-state school didn't even make his final five choices, according to Big Stage Hoops' Derek Piper.

Perhaps no program has been linked as vocally with Bragg as Illinois. Bragg's mentor, former Villa Angela-St. Joseph's assistant coach Michael Graves, gave an interview to Piper about Illini coach John Groce and spoke of him in glowing terms.

"They’ve been following Carlton since the ninth grade," Graves said of the Illini. "They’re friends of the program. The presentation that they gave when we went down for an unofficial had a lot to do with trust—Groce is really high on trust—he let us know ‘you guys can trust us.’ That really played a big part.”

Illinois narrowly lost out to Kansas for the services of top 2014 forward Cliff Alexander, and Illini fans hope this isn't another case of being left at the altar. For Kentucky's part, Bragg would make a fine replacement for Alex Poythress if he declares for the 2015 draft, but this is by no means a done deal.

Kentucky Confidence: 6/10

Isaiah Briscoe

Point Guard; 6'3.5", 200 pounds; Newark, New Jersey

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 9 overall, No. 1 PG

Current List: Open (including Arizona, Kentucky, St. John's, Seton Hall, UConn, among others)

Isaiah Briscoe once had a top five set. Villanova, Arizona, Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John's were the finalists, but then a strange thing happened.

Briscoe pushed his decision date back to the spring, a move that NJ.com's Jeremy Schneider claimed was to get a look at his in-state schools: Seton Hall and Rutgers. Then, Kentucky called once Antonio Blakeney committed to Louisville. Others like UConn, Georgia Tech and Missouri quickly followed suit. Now, Schneider reports that Briscoe has a very busy September ahead of him.

With this many schools jumping back in, Briscoe's recruitment looks like anyone's ballgame, but UK is always the 800-pound gorilla in the room.

"

Isaiah Briscoe's dad: "If you want to play basketball and you're elite you go to Kentucky if it works out for you." https://t.co/8eFM7q2EcM

— Dan Bodner (@DanBodnerKSC) September 12, 2014"

Calipari's reputation for developing guards will always precede him. Opposing recruiters must down-sell UK by pointing out that Briscoe was Calipari's second choice. In fact, UK still hasn't extended Briscoe an official offer. There's time, though, as Briscoe will wait to make his decision this spring.

Briscoe's father originally told Schneider, "We want the kid staying home." But then, the tweet above tells a different story.

Kentucky Confidence: 7/10

Jaylen Brown

Small Forward; 6'7", 217 pounds; Marietta, Georgia

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 2 overall, No. 2 SF

Current List: Open (includes Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, UCLA)

It's going to be quite a while before Georgia power wing Jaylen Brown commits to a college. At least, it will if his mother Michelle has her way.

“Jaylen waiting until his senior season is still on the table at this time,” she said to Michael Carvell of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “This is a very difficult decision, and I want Jaylen to be at peace with his choice and not be rushed. I also want him to feel comfortable that his choice covers where he can excel in both academics and athletics.”

By waiting until his senior season, Brown's mom actually meant waiting until the season was over. So, April or May. That's a lot of time for the scene to change around the college game.

Brown's expected top choices (the four listed above are among the top five in his 247Sports Crystal Ball) don't have unstable coaching situations by any stretch, but there may be early-entry declarations for Brown to wait out if he's looking hard at Kentucky, Kansas or UCLA.

This is one recruitment that actually looks better for Kentucky the longer it drags out—and the more the Cats win. Brown likely wants to know who will have playing time for him, so if Alex Poythress somehow ends up returning for his senior season, don't expect to see Brown in blue. Such a return, however, would be an upset if Poythress has the breakout season that his early work in the Bahamas seems to portend.

Kentucky Confidence: 7/10

Eric Davis

Shooting Guard; 6'3", 172 pounds; Saginaw, Michigan

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 41 overall, No. 10 SG

Current List: Top Seven (Kentucky, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, NC State, Texas, UNLV)

From the "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" department comes the curious recruitment of Michigan guard Eric Davis.

Davis has a solid list of choices and a timetable set for his decision, but there's one odd factor in the mix: Kentucky has yet to make Davis an official scholarship offer. While Davis is set to make his announcement on Sept. 16, his uncle Tony has indicated that the player could wait a bit longer if UK decides to extend an offer.

Like so many other prospects, he's waiting to see what next season's Wildcats roster will look like.

"It's Kentucky," his uncle Tony Davis told Steve Jones of the Louisville Courier-Journal. "It's one of the bluebloods. With Kentucky being the powerhouse that it is right now in college basketball, I can honestly say he's very highly interested in them."

The offer may not come, though. Kentucky is very likely to still have Devin Booker on campus next fall, and the Wildcats' lone current 2015 commitment is from Chicago guard Charles Matthews. Matthews is a bigger, lengthier player with a similar recruiting ranking to Davis'. And there's also the matter of Aaron Harrison's future to consider.

Davis can handle the ball from the point as well, but Tyler Ulis would certainly block his path to a starting role if Andrew Harrison plays himself into the 2015 draft.

If Calipari does extend Davis an offer, it seems as if he would pounce on it. Unless it comes in the next five days, however, Davis may just shuffle off to Texas or up the road to East Lansing.

Kentucky Confidence: 8/10 (pending offer)

Cheick Diallo

Power Forward; 6'9", 218 pounds; Centereach, New York

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 4 overall, No. 1 PF

Current List, per ZagsBlog.com: Tentative top 6 (Duke, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, Pittsburgh, St. John's)

Kentucky finds itself in a slightly awkward position with so much pro-caliber talent returning to this year's team, especially along the front line.

Karl Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress are all listed on the latest DraftExpress 2015 mock, dated September 3. If all go to the draft, UK will have plenty of openings for incoming recruits from the 2015 recruiting class, which is loaded with big men. If not, some talented young men will find playing time hard to come by next season.

Malian big man Cheick Diallo is a low-post brawler in the vein of a Serge Ibaka or Kenneth Faried. That sort of grit would be welcome in a UK uniform if the potential interior exodus occurs. While the EYBL Defensive Player of the Year isn't as big as Cauley-Stein, he's a similarly willing and capable rim protector.

His schedule of visits appears quite atypical. Rather than make a trip to Kentucky's crowning event, Big Blue Madness, Diallo visited the Lexington campus back in June. Visits to the two Big 12 schools on his list will take place later in September. He'll spend the weekend of Oct. 17 at St. John's, per his 247Sports timeline.

Speaking to SNY.tv, Diallo wasn't shy about his desire to be a one-and-done prospect. Kansas, Duke and Kentucky are much more synonymous with that kind of prospect than the other schools on Diallo's list, but don't discount St. John's.

Kansas and Kentucky appear to lead for Diallo's signature, and it'll come down to Bill Self's reputation for developing big men (see Embiid, Joel) versus Kentucky assistant Barry Rohrssen's relationship with Diallo from his time at Pitt.

Kentucky Confidence: 5/10

Henry Ellenson

Power Forward; 6'10", 230 pounds; Rice Lake, Wisconsin

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 10 overall, No. 4 PF

Current List: Top Three (Kentucky, Marquette, Michigan State)

According to 247Sports' experts, brotherly love carries a lot of weight for Wisconsin big man Henry Ellenson.

Of the 25 analysts currently picking Marquette as Ellenson's final destination, 21 of them came in for the Golden Eagles after July 2, when it was announced that Ellenson's older brother Wally was leaving Minnesota for Marquette. One expert's lonely vote for Minnesota still hangs on the board like a long-neglected flier advertising guitar lessons.

Ellenson hosted all three of his finalists for home visits this week—per Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader—and Big Blue Nation may not be totally out of this battle.

Ellenson not only has his brother waiting for him at Marquette—where their father John also played college ball—but also AAU teammates Matt Heldt and Nick Noskowiak, who has launched a one-man social media blitz to help new coach Steve Wojciechowski assemble his 2015 class.

In an interview posted by WTVQ Lexington's Alex Risen, Ellenson lists coaches' development skills and style of play as key factors. His offensive versatility is not unlike that of current UK freshman Karl Towns, but Ellenson is expected to announce his decision before getting a good look at how Calipari will use Towns.

Still, few coaches develop elite talents as quickly as Calipari. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo's big men have frequently been long-term contributors, but versatile scorers such as Adreian Payne and Draymond Green offer useful templates for how Ellenson may produce in East Lansing.

While Marquette has a lot going for it, the race isn't over quite yet.

Kentucky Confidence: 3/10

Brandon Ingram

Small Forward; 6'8", 180 pounds; Kinston, North Carolina

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 17 overall, No. 4 SF

Current List: Top Six (Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, NC State, UCLA)

The end of October will be decision time for North Carolina wing Brandon Ingram. He intends to announce his choice before his high school season begins but will be taking official visits to Kansas, Kentucky and UCLA during that month, according to Kinston.com sports editor Jessika Morgan. He has already visited UNC and Duke.

One comment from Morgan's interview with Ingram puzzles, however. “I’m not a big fan of a big freshman class coming in" was part of Ingram's explanation for cutting Louisville from his list.

If Ingram is seeking to play with experienced teammates or be the big fish of his recruiting class, Kentucky certainly is not the first choice. But who would be?

Duke certainly has one more scholarship available for the 2015 class—two if Jahlil Okafor leaves as expected. That gives room for a four-man class.

North Carolina could fit that bill, as it has two scholarships to offer and only Marcus Paige or perhaps Brice Johnson as potential NBA early entries. Of course, Ingram's AAU coach Jerry Stackhouse is a rather large name in UNC history as well.

Kansas has one scholarship but could free up as many as three more if Cliff Alexander, Kelly Oubre and Wayne Selden all have great seasons. UCLA can accommodate a four-man class, and no one looks like an early defection in Westwood.

NC State coach Mark Gottfried proved last season that he has no qualms about turning his team's whole offense over to one gifted player, and Ingram could be every bit as productive as T.J. Warren was.

UNC and NC State have both been in on Ingram since he was a high school freshman, and they could be the current leaders. Of course, Duke can never be counted out, either.

Kentucky Confidence: 4/10

Derrick Jones

Small Forward; 6'6", 180 pounds; Wayne, Pennsylvania

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 40 overall, No. 7 SF

Current List: Top Nine (Arizona, Auburn, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, UConn, UNLV)

Calipari has an eclectic field of competition for the signature of Philadelphia-area wing Derrick Jones. Aside from the ever-present Bill Self, Rick Pitino and Roy Williams, Calipari is also working against the coach whose team bested UK in the national championship game, SEC archrival Billy Donovan and fast-rising juggernaut Bruce Pearl at Auburn.

Jones' recruitment has been a frequent subject for SNY.tv guru Adam Zagoria, and nearly every update depicts UConn's Kevin Ollie outworking all comers.

In the second link above in a post dated Sept. 11, Jones' father Derrick Sr. names UConn as one of his son's likely official visits, which the family hopes to begin making in January. Auburn and UNLV were also singled out for special interest.

The highest-powered programs on the list, mainly Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina, seem to be keeping in touch with Jones as a safety net in case higher-profile players such as Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram head elsewhere.

UConn, Auburn or UNLV could spark Jones to move up his intended spring timetable if he chooses to reward one of them for making him a top priority.

Kentucky Confidence: 3/10

Skal Labissiere

Center; 6'10", 200 pounds; Memphis, Tennessee

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 7 overall, No. 2 C

Current List: Top Six (Baylor, Georgetown, Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina, Tennessee)

To dig into the recruitment of Haitian big man Skal Labissiere is to take a trip down the proverbial rabbit hole. CBS Sports' Gary Parrish dug into the process back in July.

More recently, Labissiere watchers aren't even sure where he'll attend school as a senior. No longer enrolled at Evangelical Christian School, Labissiere has transferred to Lausanne Collegiate School but is ineligible to play basketball there, per The Commercial Appeal (subscription required).

Labissiere's guardian, Gerald Hamilton, is exploring the possibility of home schooling, according to John Martin of ESPN 92.9 in Memphis.

According to Parrish, eligibility questions reportedly drove Emmanuel Mudiay to China. They may rear their heads with Labissiere as well, making his recruitment highly problematic for everyone involved.

He's still taking his official visits, ticking off North Carolina in the first weekend of September, followed by Georgetown, Kentucky, Tennessee and Baylor. Memphis is still considered the leader, but as Parrish reported in July, Labissiere openly discussed playing overseas as a viable option.

At Memphis, Labissiere could struggle for minutes behind Shaq Goodwin and Austin Nichols, plus fellow 2015 commits K.J. and Dedric Lawson. Kentucky is unlikely to have a completely bare cupboard when Labissiere makes his decision, barring a mass exodus to the 2015 draft.

Georgetown is the other intriguing destination, with its impressive history of post players and another touted 2015 center—Jessie Govan of Lancaster, New York—on hand to play Willie Cauley-Stein to Labissiere's Nerlens Noel.

Still, it's hard not to look at UK as the third-place horse in this race, with Memphis running second and some foreign country in the lead.

Kentucky Confidence: 5/10

Doral Moore

Center; 7'0", 220 pounds; Luella, Georgia

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 58 overall, No. 11 C

Current List, per SNY.tv's Adam Zagoria: Top Five (Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio State, Wake Forest)

Georgia big man Doral Moore, now attending Monteverde Academy in Florida, is considered the closest thing to a slam dunk in Kentucky's entire 2015 recruiting plan.

Of the 19 analysts who have weighed in on Moore at 247Sports, 16 predict that he'll become a Wildcat. His underwhelming ranking is of no concern to the UK program, since Willie Cauley-Stein lagged far behind his 2012 classmates and is now a potential lottery pick.

What could be a concern, however, is Moore missing a scheduled official visit to UK in August. Zagoria reports he is set to visit Illinois on September 26 and Wake Forest sometime in the future.

New Wake Forest coach Danny Manning brings an impressive name and a reputation for developing big men during his tenure as an assistant at Kansas. Illinois could offer immediate playing time, as Moore would certainly contend for the starting center position vacated by current senior Nnanna Egwu.

Kentucky can offer a spot on the bench and the chance to compete against even more highly recruited big men, but will that be enough? With UK still in the mix for several of the class' top big men, Moore could be seeing the writing on the wall.

Call this one still a substantial lead for Kentucky, with Wake and Illinois trying to make up ground on the outside.

Kentucky Confidence: 8/10

Malik Newman

Shooting Guard; 6'3", 174 pounds; Jackson, Mississippi

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 3 overall, No. 1 SG

Current List: Open (includes UConn, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi State, NC State, Texas A&M)

Courtney Cronin of the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger reports combo guard Malik Newman intends to play one season of college ball. Where he's going to play that year is anyone's guess.

Kentucky's potent run of one-and-dones could certainly be appealing to Newman, but will he want to dive in with a large class of equally hyped talents? The same applies to Kansas, which is still in the mix for most of the same top prospects.

UConn drew Newman's attention in its run to the national championship, according to Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader (subscription required). Coach Kevin Ollie let no grass grow under his feet, and now the Huskies are a primary contender.

In fact, UConn appears to be the only school now capable of pulling off the long-rumored package deal with Newman and Milwaukee center Diamond Stone, according to Rivals.com analyst Eric Bossi. Stone cut down to his final five in August, and UConn is the only school the two have in common.

As of now, Newman has only one official visit set—Texas A&M on the weekend of October 11. That coincides with Kansas' Late Night in the Phog, as well as the widely reported Kentucky combine that Calipari is putting on for NBA scouts, which Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski claims is being finalized.

Newman may prefer to visit schools at off-peak times, according to Bossi. However, Cronin reports that UK may draw Newman to Big Blue Madness by booking one of the player's favorite musicians, Drake. Larger decisions throughout history have surely been based on less.

Imagine the rage at other schools if the nation's most hyped guard seemingly makes his decision based on a rapper. As close to the vest as Newman holds his cards, that may be all we have to go on for the moment.

Kentucky Confidence: 6/10

Ivan Rabb

Power Forward; 6'10", 210 pounds; Oakland, California

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 6 overall, No. 2 PF

Current List: Open (includes Arizona, Cal, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, among others)

Oakland big man Ivan Rabb still claims he has information to gather, but he has two schools in mind that are already one step closer to the finish line.

“I can say Cal and Kentucky will definitely be on that list," Rabb told Adam Zagoria about his eventual final five.

Rabb would be a perfect fit at a place like Kentucky, Duke or Kansas—one that will surely surround him with other elite talents, because he's just as comfortable flashing a no-look pass as a thunderous dunk.

“It makes your teammates want to play with you,” Rabb told Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy. “I like to be known as a guy other people like to play with. If people like to play with you, then they’ll want to facilitate for you too. It makes your job easier, and it makes their job easier.”

While Arizona has a rich pipeline to Rabb's Oakland Soldiers AAU program—Nick Johnson, Brandon Ashley, Aaron Gordon and Stanley Johnson are all ex-Soldiers—Rabb told Kennedy that the assumption that he's next in line for a career in Tucson "annoyed [him] a lot more when [he] was younger."

For Kentucky's part, when I talked to UK commit Charles Matthews this summer, he named Rabb as the one player he would work hardest to bring to Lexington with him.

What connection is there to Cal, aside from being 15 minutes from his home? The founder of the Oakland Soldiers is a Berkeley education professor named Hashim Alauddeen, who spoke to Rabb during a June visit, per Ryan Gorcey of BearTerritory.net.

There are still a lot of variables in Rabb's recruitment, and no one is really nudging a long distance ahead—except, perhaps, Cal and Kentucky.

Kentucky Confidence: 6/10

Caleb Swanigan

Center; 6'8", 265 pounds; Fort Wayne, Indiana

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 11 overall, No. 3 C

Current List: Open (includes Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, among others)

It might be time for all these blue-blood programs to pack it in in the chase for Indiana low-post banger Caleb Swanigan. How can any of them hope to compete with the mighty Chicago State Cougars?

All jokes aside, CSU was the first school to recruit Swanigan, and his mentor Roosevelt Barnes says that it's certain to be one of the institutions that he'll visit, according to Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore.

The burly Indiana native is frequently compared to other hefty ballers such as ex-Marquette star Devante Gardner and longtime NBA stalwart Zach Randolph. His footwork is practically balletic, belying the bulk that those appendages support. Content to wade through bodies at the basket, Swanigan could be just as efficient a college scorer as Gardner and even more prolific to boot.

The original Randolph attended Michigan State for one year, and the Spartans are widely considered the leaders to land Swanigan as well. A whopping 19 of the 20 analysts who have cast Crystal Ball predictions expect him to wear green and white in 2015.

While the experts aren't shy about picking a winner, Swanigan offers no such clues. According to an interview with Ben Roberts of the Herald-Leader, Swanigan intends to take visits to actual games rather than staged events like Big Blue Madness.

Kentucky fans will have the opportunity to sway Swanigan with their passion during a game, but will he travel to Rupp Arena for a game that will keep the crowd turned up?

Kentucky Confidence: 4/10

Stephen Zimmerman

Center; 6'11", 214 pounds; Las Vegas, Nevada

247Sports' Composite Rankings: No. 14 overall, No. 4 C

Current List: Top Five (Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA, UNLV)

The month of October and first week of November will tell the story of Las Vegas center Stephen Zimmerman's recruitment. The month is scheduled to kick off with an official visit to North Carolina on October 3, but a conflict may have arisen.

247Sports Carolina insider Ross Martin reports that USA Basketball obligations may force Zimmerman to reschedule that visit—a claim verified by Zimmerman's stepmother Lori.

Whether he gets to Carolina or not, Zimmerman will join several other top prospects—namely Jaylen Brown, Brandon Ingram and Carlton Bragg—as a group at both Kansas' Late Night in the Phog on October 10 and UK's Big Blue Madness one week later.

October 24 holds a scheduled visit to UCLA, and November 7 will see him at Arizona. UNLV has been a frequent stop for unofficial visits, and InsideIndiana's Alex McCarthy reports Indiana must settle for merely one in-home visit on Sept. 18.

The skilled, wiry big man offers no hints on what he's looking for in a school or when he might reach a decision. He told Larry Vaught of The Advocate Messenger (Danville, Ky.), "I could commit tomorrow if it felt right. Just when it feels right, I’ll commit."

Kansas and Indiana are the only schools that are currently unlikely to have dominant big men on campus when Zimmerman begins college life next fall, but that's about it as far as tea leaves to read. This race is neck-and-neck with a wide field.

Kentucky Confidence: 5/10

All height, weight, ranking, biographical and recruiting information via 247Sports unless otherwise noted.

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