Skal Labissiere to Kentucky: Wildcats Land 5-Star Center Prospect

Few centers in the Class of 2015 were more coveted  than Skal Labissiere. On Thursday night, the prep star made his decision on where he'll play in college.

Labissiere announced that he'll join Kentucky, per Scout.com's Evan Daniels:

ESPN's Reggie Rankin has Labissiere's thoughts on his new school:

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Labissiere is the second-best center and seventh-best recruit in the country. While far from the finished product, he has the potential to be a defensive force in the post.

Labissiere's choice comes as little surprise. Scout's Evan Daniels reported on Monday that the Wildcats looked to be in pole position:

Back in April 2013, College Basketball Talk's Rob Dauster wrote that Labissiere would be a great fit with UK head coach John Calipari after he helped Marcus Camby, Anthony Davis and Nerlens Noel all parlay their collegiate careers into high first-round selections in the NBA draft.

Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Camby, Davis and Noel are all similar to Labissiere in that they excelled at the defensive end but weren't necessarily game-changers on the offensive end when they made the jump to college. Like Davis, Labissiere has a nice touch from mid-range when facing up to the basket.

The only knock on him is that he's still a bit undersized to become an unstoppable presence in the post. At 6'10" and 200 pounds, he'll get bullied early on by stronger centers. As long as Labissiere can add some muscle, though, it won't be a major problem.

While the Wildcats are loaded with McDonald's All-Americans every year, Calipari's record speaks for itself. Few college coaches are as adept at preparing his players for the NBA. There's little doubt that Labissiere has the potential to be the next great big man to come out of Lexington.

Of course, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com raised the major red flag hovering over the young center:

Labissiere attempted to transfer and play basketball at Lausanne Collegiate School, only to be denied by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, per Michael Cohen of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis:

Labissiere then announced in late October that he'd play for Reach Your Dream Prep:

ESPN 92.9's Josh Martin documented how Reach Your Dream Prep didn't even exist before Labissiere's appeal was denied. College basketball writer Andy Glockner attempted to access the school's website, only to find that it was "coming soon":

USA Today's Dan Wolken called the whole situation "insane":

Martin wrote that the NCAA would obviously do its due diligence about Reach Your Dream Prep before signing off on the center's eligibility.

And as if the NCAA's investigation didn't feature enough twists and turns, CBSSports.com's Gary Parrish reported on Wednesday that Labissiere's guardian, Gerald Hamilton, may have had an ulterior motive for bringing the teenager over from Haiti:

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Truth be told, (AAU coach Keith) Easterwood used to meet guys like this often, if only because his hometown of Memphis is littered with such people, the kind Easterwood routinely refers to as "hobos, heroes and street-corner clowns." Hamilton was, in Easterwood's mind, merely the latest. So they met but never got to know each other because, honestly, it's not like Hamilton had any players anyway, point being he wasn't, at the time, really worth getting to know.

Then, about two years ago, Easterwood got a random phone call.

"It was Gerald Hamilton," Easterwood told CBSSports.com. "He wanted to talk, and one of the things he asked me was, 'How can I make money off of a basketball player?'"

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Hamilton is also the founder of Reach Your Dream, the charitable foundation behind Reach Your Dream Prep, and according to Parrish's sources, "Hamilton either directly indicated or strongly suggested pursuing Labissiere would mostly be a waste of time if they couldn't offer assistance in helping fund his foundation."

The NCAA will be turning over every stone before ruling whether Labissiere will be able to play for Kentucky.

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Labissiere is keeping his options open in the event he's ruled ineligible.

"Overseas is an option," he said in July, per Parrish. "I don't know yet for sure. We'll see. But that is a lot of money."

He wouldn't be the first prep star to play international basketball for a year before heading to the NBA. Brandon Jennings did so in Italy prior to the 2009 NBA draft, while Emmanuel Mudiay is plying his trade in China before almost certainly entering the 2015 draft.

For most high school stars, selecting a college is the end of a years-long process and hours upon hours of hard work in the gym. For Labissiere, the decision is only the beginning of what's bound to be a whirlwind few months as the NCAA ponders its next move.