Somto Cyril still hearing from Kentucky, recruitment is "wide open"

Physically, you won’t find a more gifted athlete in the junior class than 2024 four-star center Somto Cyril. Standing 6-foot-10, 235 pounds with a 7-foot-5 wingspan and a few shattered backboards over the years, his nickname is Baby Shaq for good reason.

It’s also why he’s rated as the No. 15 overall prospect and No. 3 center in the updated On3 player rankings. Limited offensively, sure, but still a force on the glass and a standout rim-running threat capable of throwing a dunk down on your head should you let your guard down. And making the move from Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (TN) to Overtime Elite in Atlanta, he’s seen his all-around game improve quite a bit over the course of his junior campaign.

“I feel like I’ve gotten way better, it’s great playing with guys at this level,” Cyril said following his Cold Hearts team’s regular-season finale on Friday. “Everyone out here is on the top level, it’s all top talent. I’ve gotten way better, and if I can do it at this level, I can for sure do it in college. You play against the best out here.”

Cyril closed out the 15-game regular season averaging a smooth 8.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.4 blocks in 20.3 minutes per contest while shooting 66.2% from the field. His per-40 numbers resemble those of Kentucky star Oscar Tshiebwe — a player he envisions himself playing like at the next level — at 15.9 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6.6 blocks per game.

“It’s just me being me, helping my team get wins,” Cyril said of his playing style. “Of course, I’ve got to play defense for my team, block shots, get rebounds, just make plays for my teammates. You know, like getting them shots by setting screens. There have been a lot of changes in my game, and it’s changing in a good way.”

The four-star center racked up early offers from the likes of Kansas, Florida, Tennessee, Georgetown, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss and Memphis before seeing his recruitment slow down a bit in 2022. Then to close out the year, he added new scholarships from Indiana and Cincinnati, taking visits to both schools.

With postseason play coming for Overtime Elite, recruiting and visits are on the back burner for Cyril, at least temporarily. Then when his junior year officially comes to a close, he’ll be ready to ramp things up and schedule some more trips.

“Right now, no (visits are planned). I have the playoffs coming up and I’m focused on the games. Hopefully I can help my team make a run,” he told KSR. “I went on two visits, saw Cincinnati and Indiana. It was great, really great. Great program, great atmosphere, everything was great when I went out there. Being around campus, I was able to see a lot about the colleges. It was great.”

Beyond those two programs, Cyril didn’t share what other schools or coaches are prioritizing him at this time — he’s open to anyone and everyone. No early favorites, no plans of a list cut anytime soon.

“Everybody is texting and calling me,” he said. “I feel like everybody is on the same level, my options are still open. And I’m going to keep them open for now. I don’t have anybody I would say is in the lead or anything right now. Right now, I’m still wide open for anybody. So far, so good.”

That makes Kentucky’s involvement something to keep an eye on, even if at a distance. The Wildcats were among the first schools to reach out to the physically imposing big when the direct contact period opened up last June and have continued to monitor his progress since. John Calipari and the UK coaching staff have stopped in a few times to visit the OTE facilities in Atlanta, checking out Cyril, along with the other up-and-coming recruits within the program.

Not to mention the four-star center previously took an unofficial visit to Kentucky in 2021 and received an in-person visit from Calipari and Orlando Antigua at Hamilton Heights shortly after.

“We are in touch,” Cyril told KSR. “They talked to me on the first day (of the direct contact period with 2024 recruits back in June), they show up here sometimes for practice, workouts, everything. We still have a good relationship, everything is fine. It’s going well.”

Cyril has said from the beginning Kentucky was a school he was interested in. Growing up in Enugu, Nigeria, he had the Wildcats on his television whenever they played and always hoped to earn an opportunity to play for the blue-blood program.

“They know how to play basketball, it’s a winning team,” he said. “I know they’re having a rough season right now, but the Kentucky I know and the one I grew up watching has been a winning team from the very beginning. Hopefully they’ll get it back together, get some wins. I love watching Kentucky basketball.”

Those traits are what he’s looking for at his next stop: a winning program with great leaders capable of helping him reach his dreams.

“I think it’s just — overall, a winning team with good teammates and a nice coaching staff,” Cyril said. “I want to be at a place where I get better every day, where they help my game grow on and off the court as a person to hopefully get ready for the next level.”

Pilgrim’s Take

Kentucky is in wait-and-see mode with Cyril, monitoring his development at Overtime Elite before deciding whether to make a serious push or hold off. As things stand, the staff is impressed with OTE and the structure it provides its players, cracking open a door that was once closed with the four-star center. He’d be a multi-year prospect, but potentially a project worth bringing in, especially considering he already looks the part physically. Why not take a long, hard look at a player capable of battling inside and competing on the glass from day one? He’d be an interesting replacement for, say, Lance Ware by the time he arrived on campus in 2024-25.

Is that a role he’d be willing to accept, one where he likely wouldn’t see starter-level minutes to start his career? Smaller schools would be able to provide that earlier than Kentucky likely could.

UK has prioritized Tre Johnson, Boogie Fland, Flory Bidunga and Billy Richmond in the 2024 class while waiting for others to bloom a bit further down the list. Cyril is among the players the school is keeping a close eye on, with this spring and summer being a big one for him personally as grassroots season begins. He checked the boxes in year one at OTE. If he can continue to build on that in the coming months, this situation will be one worth watching.