(Image via Robbie Rakestraw/MaxPreps)
When the defending National Champs get on a plane and make their way to Lexington, Kentucky, a top high school recruit will be following them. Of course, he's not traveling with them, but in the form of taking an official visit to Rupp Arena and to the school it's held the banners for all of these years.
Let's just let the cat out of the bag: five-star recruit and the number one overall player in the class of 2024, Tre Johnson, will be in attendance for Kansas at Kentucky on January 28th. On3's Joe Tipton broke the news on Friday.
In an interview with Joe Tipton, he said:
“I’m just excited to see the atmosphere... Just their fans and everything and I want to see what the campus is like. Coach Cal and coach KT have been the ones recruiting me. They’ve just been saying that they want me and that they could see me playing in their type of system and being a one-and-done. (Kentucky) is built on winning and that’s something I’m really about. I want to be apart of place that’s going to win.”
The 6'5", 180 pound top-ranked shooting guard from Dallas, Texas is receiving plenty of interest all across the country, as every program wants him. However, the teams that seem to be the warmest for him on 247Sports' player rankings section appear to be Baylor, Texas, Arkansas, Auburn and Duke. Texas and Baylor are the only programs that he has visited, up to this point.
He surely will not be the only major recruit to be in Rupp Arena that day, as there will be a handful of them that are interested in the two programs facing off. However, this is why you schedule these games. Players, both current and future ones, want to be in these blockbuster atmospheres and experience them. Even more want to be in it playing themselves. Going to a school like Kentucky and Kansas allows them to do that. If you really want to impress him during his visit, you find a way to win this game. Kentucky really needs to win this game, given how they have done against top competition already this year. That Saturday will be a big one for many reasons and we will let you know here when more recruits announce they will be there for it.