Kentucky basketball coaches hit the road to see high-profile recruits

IG: @derecklively

The Kentucky basketball coaching staff hit the road this for the first time since before COVID-19 shut down in-person recruiting, traveling across the country this weekend to check out some of the program’s top recruiting targets in the upcoming 2022 and 2023 classes.

After hosting the likes of five-star guard Shaedon Sharpe, five-star wing Chris Livingston and five-star center Dereck Lively last weekend during the first official evaluation period of 2021, the staff hit the road for the first time to see some of their top recruits in action. Among them? Lively, five-star senior Keyonte George and five-star junior J.J. Taylor.

Dereck Lively II

The first trip for UK head coach John Calipari? New Jersey to watch 7-foot-1 center Dereck Lively II in action, just one week after hosting the five-star big man on an official visit in Lexington.

Calipari joined Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry, along with assistants from Duke and North Carolina to see Lively’s Westtown School squad take on Virginia Episcopal Academy on Friday night.

John Calipari, Juwan Howard and a handful of other coaches in attendance here in New Jersey to watch Westtown take on Virginia Episcopal Academy. pic.twitter.com/MRjpLQK7oR

— Pro Insight™️ (@_proinsight) June 25, 2021

Keyonte George

While the assistant is not confirmed – the expectation is that Jai Lucas made the trip – one UK coach was in attendance to see five-star guard Keyonte George at the TABC Showcase on Friday.

“Down to a final five of Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State and Texas, George drew Chris Beard plus three assistants, Scott Drew plus three assistants, Mike Boynton with multiple assistants, Bill Self with an assistant and an assistant from Kentucky,” Eric Bossi of 247Sports reported.

Bossi also reported that George has not yet scheduled an official visit to Lexington, though one is in the works in the coming months.

“I have some preseason stuff before the season hits and they are busy too,” George told Bossi. “But we are definitely talking about a date to get out there and we’ll work something out.”

J.J. Taylor

To round out the reported recruiting trips for the Kentucky coaching staff this weekend, David Sisk of Cats Illustrated broke the news that UK assistant Chin Coleman was in Chicago to watch 2023 five-star forward J.J. Taylor play at the Ridgewood Shootout. The 6-foot-7 wing, who received an offer from UK back on June 15, is considered a consensus top-10 prospect in the rising junior class, with Rivals.com listing him as the No. 4 overall prospect in their update rankings.

Thanks for the tip from @jkarzen at Illinois Rivals. Chin Coleman back in his old stomping grounds at the Ridgewood Shootout near Chicago to see J.J. Taylor, one of the top prospects in 2023. @KentuckyRivals pic.twitter.com/tDznjoZjrS

— David Sisk (@CoachDavidSisk) June 25, 2021

It’s going to be a busy summer for Coach Cal and his assistants as they get back into the groove of evaluating high-level prospects in person for the first time in well over a year.