Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats reel in fifth 2017 recruit

Five-star power forward Jarred Vanderbilt has committed to Kentucky basketball.

Remember when the Kentucky Wildcats had a struggling front court that was a massive liability?

Yeah, that was so last year.

This season, Kentucky has Edrice ‘Bam’ Adebayo, Isaac Humphries and Wenyen Gabriel. In 2017, the Wildcats already have two freshman five-star bigs, Nick Richards and P.J. Washington, joining the program.

And on Friday afternoon, the Wildcats received another major commitment in 2017. This time it came from five-star 6’8″ power forward Jarred Vanderbilt, who chose John Calipari’s squad over TCU, Oregon and North Carolina.

Feels good to be a Wildcat!! #BBN ????⚪️????⚪️????⚪️ #Godsplan pic.twitter.com/11g9gBpbg1

— Jarred Vanderbilt (@JVando_) December 23, 2016

The Houston, TX native is ranked 22nd in ESPN’s top 100 and is labeled as the 4th best power forward in the class of 2017. He is also ranked as the best player in the state of Texas.

Vanderbilt is lacking as a shooter and is still developing his strength. However, he is a solid face-up forward who is an excellent rebounder, an impressive athlete, an underrated passer and an aggressive slasher. The forward has the skill level to corral a defensive rebound and start a fast break, and also has the versatility to impact the game in numerous different ways.

The long lefty has a chance to be a good defender down the road because of his physical traits (size, athleticism and long arms), but still must make major leaps on that end of the floor.

While Vanderbilt has one-and-done potential, it is questionable as to how many minutes he will receive right away on a team that is absurdly deep in the front court. In addition to the three new recruits, Vanderbilt, Washington and Richards, Kentucky is likely to return Humphries, Gabriel, Sacha Killeya-Jones and Tai Wynyard.

But with Adebayo likely departing for the NBA Draft, it would be tough to see Vanderbilt fall behind Wynyard, a players who hasn’t made an impact yet this season. That leaves Humphries, Gabriel, Killeya-Jones, Vanderbilt, Washington and Richards, who are expected to make up one of the top front court rotations in the country.

Vanderbilt might not have the same level of buzz that some of Kentucky’s other recruits have. However, let’s be honest, he would start right away for a majority of programs next season. Kentucky is going to be deep, versatile and tough…again.