How Kentucky Hoops Unwittingly Helped Georgia Football Recruiting

In the world of college hoops, Kentucky is undoubtedly the marquee program in the country.

There’s a different level of energy in the gym when coach John Calipari brings his Wildcats on the road.

For example, take his club’s 72-64 win over Georgia on Tuesday night. The Wildcats—who are clearly the class of the SEC in hoops—may have helped their fellow Eastern Division member’s fortunes in football.

The Bulldogs were able to turn the visit from the nation’s No. 1 squad into a showcase for their recruiting targets on the gridiron. 

Bulldogs football coach Mark Richt, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, NBA legend Charles Barkley, Wildcats superfan Ashley Judd and a host of UGA’s top targets from the 2016 and 2017 recruiting cycles were among the patrons in a sold-out Stegeman Coliseum on hand to witness the Wildcats stay unbeaten and move to 30-0.

2016 4-star corner Chad Clay was in Athens less than two weeks ago for the Bulldogs' junior day. Coming out of that trip, he told Bleacher Report that the Bulldogs jumped into the lead for his services. 

He was back on campus for the Bulldogs' hoops matchup with the Wildcats.

This time, he had several of his prep teammates from Peachtree Ridge High School (Georgia) join him, including 2016 3-star running back Malik Staples, 2016 3-star corner Baylen Buchanan and 2017 4-star athlete Deangelo Gibbs.

Clay tweeted out his impressions of the atmosphere inside Stegeman Coliseum—a game in which Georgia led by nine points in the second half before the Wildcats rallied late to pull out a win.

Another school that had multiple prospects in attendance was Archer High School (Georgia), which was represented by 2016 4-star offensive lineman E.J. Price, 2016 4-star athlete Kyle Davis and 2017 4-star athlete Jamyest Williams.

"

Glo'd with big dawg @Ej_Price77 @TheReal_Chad4 pic.twitter.com/hFH4dcJEzK

— KD (@KDSZN) March 4, 2015"

For his part, Davis tweeted a picture of himself and his teammates spending time with Richt before the game. 

Other highly touted recruits of note who were on hand were a trio of top 2016 targets for the Bulldogs in 4-star athlete Mecole Hardman, 4-star linebacker Jaleel Laguins and 3-star defensive end Jordan Smith. 

The fact that the Bulldogs were able to create a frenzy among recruits and get them to Athens is remarkable.

However, there’s no doubt that having Kentucky—who is college basketball’s equivalent of the Yankees or Cowboys—as their opponent made it easier to convince top prospect to make the trip to Athens on a school night.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.