The puzzle pieces are slowly starting to be picked up from under the table, as our roster begins to fill itself out with the latest addition of TyTy Washington.
Less than two weeks after the surprise de-commitment of who was to be believed to be Kentucky's staring point guard next season, Nolan Hickman, John Calipari was left scrambling to find his replacement, with only one month until players have to report to campus for their summer workouts.
With the departure of Hickman, it left Kentucky completely without a point guard on its roster. With John Calipari having his back against the wall, and time running out, what does he go out and do?... Get's a top-fifteen player in the country, and the nation's No. 2 overall PG.
The 6-foot-3 guard from Phoenix, is ranked as high as the No. 12 overall player in the class, and now pushes the 2022 recruiting class from 30th to 7th in the nation. Washington becomes the third freshman to ink with the Wildcats, joining forwards Daimion Collins and Bryce Hopkins.
"I'm excited for the opportunity to come to Kentucky and chase my dreams," Washington said. "Coach Cal told me if you come to Kentucky, you bet on yourself and I've always done that."
He was recently named the MaxPreps Arizona Player of the Year after averaging 24.0 points, 7.0 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game for Compass Prep, which finished 30-2 on the season. He connected on 48% of his shots, including 41% from 3-point range and 88% from the free-throw line.
Washington suited up for Team Loyalty at the 2021 Iverson Roundball Classic in Memphis. Showcasing his range, he won the 3-point shooting contest at the event and scored a game-high 22 points.
In addition to ESPN's top-15 ranking, Washington is tabbed the No. 16 overall player by 247Sports and No. 32 by Rivals.
"Players who thrive in our culture are players who are physically tough, who have a mental toughness to them, who want the challenge and are not looking for guarantees, and who want to see how good they can be in a really competitive environment," Calipari said. "All of that describes TyTy Washington. He wanted this. He wanted the challenge. He is a combination guard who can play both point and off guard. He is a downhill runner who physically gets to the rim. His physical attributes and his mental approach leads me to believe he will be a terrific defender too. I am ecstatic for him to join Bryce Hopkins and Daimion Collins, two other young and talented players, in our freshman class."
In every season in the Calipari era, the Wildcats have signed a top-three recruiting class according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, which tallies major recruiting rankings and plugs them into a formula to calculate a consensus ranking. Kentucky has now signed 62 top-50 recruits, 47 top-25 players and 26 top-10 players (according to Rivals) in what will now be Calipari's 13 recruiting classes at Kentucky.