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College basketball recruiting roundup: R.J. Barrett talks Kentucky

By Chris Stone

MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 26: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats gestures in the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at FedExForum on March 26, 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - MARCH 26: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats gestures in the second half against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at FedExForum on March 26, 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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R.J Barrett talks Kentucky and more in this week’s recruiting roundup

Last week’s rendition of the roundup brought a couple of big commitments from top prospects in the Class of 2018, but this week the focus is on high schoolers still in the midst of making their decisions.

R.J. Barrett takes his first official visit to Kentucky

The top prize remaining in the class is Canadian small forward R.J. Barrett. The 6-foot-7 wing took his first official visit to Kentucky last weekend and spoke about it earlier this week.

“It was alright, I got meet to meet Coach Cal and learn about the school so it was good,” he told ZagsBlog.

That may not be the most shining endorsement from a kid who is projected to end up at Duke alongside Cameron Reddish at the moment, but the Wildcats do have a few things going for them in the chase for 2018’s No. 1 prospect.

Obviously, head coach John Calipari has a history of ushering young talent through their one-and-done seasons and onto the NBA, but he also has a lesser known history of landing Canadian prospects. In recent years, Calipari has landed commitments from Jamal Murray, Mychal Mulder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Immanuel Quickley delays Miami visit due to Hurricane Irma

The 5-star point guard, one of Kentucky’s top targets in the Class of 2018, was scheduled to take his first official visit to Miami this weekend, but had to cancel it due to Hurricane Irma, his summer team announced via their Twitter account on Wednesday.

It sounds like Quickley will simply reschedule his visit for another weekend. The 6-foot-3 point guard is considered most likely to end up in Lexington where Calipari will hope his friendship with Zion Williamson can help the Wildcats land another top talent.

Zion Williamson taking an unofficial visit to Clemson

Speaking of Williamson, the top five prospect announced via a now deleted Instagram post that he’ll be taking an unofficial visit to Clemson this weekend. The 6-foot-7 combo forward does not have a specific list of schools, but is being chased by all of the country’s top programs. Currently, Kansas is seen as the favorite, according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball.

Keldon Johnson visits Texas, schedules North Carolina State trip

Fresh off a trip to Austin, the 6-foot-6 wing was supposed to visit Florida State this weekend, but had to reschedule due to weather like Quickley. Instead, he’ll head to North Carolina State with a trip to Tallahassee set up for the following weekend.

Johnson spent last weekend with the Longhorns and is also considering Maryland and Kentucky.

Next: All-time All-ACC mock draft

Scout debates 2018’s under the radar classes

The recruiting analysts over at Scout got together this week to cast their votes for which school has the most underrated recruiting class for 2018 so far with Villanova, Creighton and California all getting some love.

The Wildcats seem like a bit of an odd choice as their two-man class currently contains a pair of borderline top 50 prospects, but the read on the other two schools is certainly interesting given the lesser known prospects committed to both places.