Kentucky's Christmas present came two days early.
Jarred Vanderbilt, a five-star prospect from Bellaire, Texas, who ranks as a top-20 player in the class of 2017 verbally committed to the Wildcats on Friday.
Vanderbilt picked UK over North Carolina, Oregon and TCU. In doing so, Vanderbilt vaulted Kentucky to the top of the 247Sports 2017 recruiting rankings.
He's a great get for John Calipari. Kentucky's in the midst of a really nice season, and oh by the way, next year's group will also be so very loaded. UK's already landed three other five-stars at this point: power forward/center Nick Richards (ranked 14th in the 247 composite), power forward P.J. Washington (ranked 15th) and point guard Quade Green (ranked 24th).
Plus, UK also has a four-star commit in combo guard Shai Alexander.
What Vanderbilt brings to Kentucky
Kentucky loads up every year, of course, and now Calipari only needs to add a big-time shooter/scorer to round out his needs for next season. Vanderbilt is a smooth small-forward type, a wing hybrid, even. There's no one on Kentucky's team this year really that much like him. He's got good length, size and can get to the rim on sheer instinct.
He'll thrive under Calipari.
"The way they get up and down in transition and they way he develops guys," was a selling point, Vanderbilt told Scout.com. "My game is complemented and I thrive around great players with my passing and rebounding and everything. It's a place you can develop for the league."
Vanderbilt can also play some reliable defense, something that should earn him significant playing time relatively quickly next season. On the whole, Kentucky fans should feel pretty good right about now, even after losing at Louisville. If anything, this is an uplifting moment after a bitter loss to a rival.
Off the court, on the recruiting trail, Kentucky is ahead of all others as we turn to 2017.
