Kentucky has become a landing spot for future pros, as Cal has developed this University as the One-And-Done headquarters where each summer he continues to recruit talent and produce NBA Draft picks. 38 to be exact. In nearly a month from now, Kentucky looks to add three more to that list, with Tyrese Maxey, Ashton Hagans and Immanuel Quickley entering their names into the draft with real expectations of being picked.
With new sets of elite talent year after year, have you ever wondered who were the 'elite of the elite?' The top rated recruits to ever come to Lexington? In John Calipari's 12 seasons at Kentucky, he's had a top-three recruiting class in every season, as well as, eight No.1 overall recruiting classes. But who were the best coming out of High School?
Per 247Sports, the 10 best recruits to play at Kentucky since 2000 are:
10. Brandon "BJ" Boston Jr.
9. Karl Anthony Towns
8. Andrew Harrison
7. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
6. DeMarcus Cousins
5. John Wall
4. Julius Randle
3. Skal Labissiere
2. Anthony Davis
1. Nerlens Noel
The highest rated recruit that Kentucky has landed in the last two decades, Nerlens Noel, didn't quite pan out the way he was projected to. He got off to a hot start at Kentucky, averaging 10.5 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 4.4 BPG, 2.1 SPG, 1.6 APG while shooting at 59% from the field until his collegiate season was cut short to an ACL tear suffered in an away game at Florida in his 24th game of the season.
Noel went on to get drafted 6th overall in the 2013 NBA Draft, and has spent his last 7 seasons playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
His career averages are 8.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.4 BPG, 1.3 SPG and 1.2 APG.
You can see the rest of the list here: https://247sports.com/college/kentucky/Sport/Basketball/AllTimeRecruits/