Nerlens Noel: Kentucky Would Stay on Top by Adding Top Recruit in Nation

If you haven’t heard of Nerlens Noel, you soon will.

The 6’10”, 215-pound 17-year-old kid is the hottest center recruit in the nation and has an incredibly well-rounded game. He’s also got a high-top fade to make sure you never forget him once you see him.

Of course, John Calipari and the University of Kentucky are closing in on getting a commitment from the future superstar. John Rothstein of CBS has confirmed from multiple sources that they are the front runners to land Noel.

Coach Cal is a master of the current game of one-and-done recruiting and has turned his program into a glorified medium between AAU basketball and turning pros.

He can offer a young man like Noel—who Pete Thamel of The New York Times reported was born to first-generation immigrants from Haiti and has a father who drives a cab and mother that worked double-shifts at a hospital to make ends meet—a chance to achieve collegiate glory, improve his draft stock and make millions of dollars within a year of signing.

This is a win-win situation for the Wildcats, as they are currently in the Final Four and are favorites to win the NCAA tournament championship.

It’s extremely likely that they will lose freshman phenom Anthony Davis to the NBA, as he is widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Nerlens could come in and immediately fill the shot-blocking and hyper-athletic finishing role for the team.

If Kentucky can get a letter of intent from the Massachusetts native, it will further prove that Calipari has professionalized the college game and the school will continue to stay on top of the college basketball landscape until the one-and-done rule changes.