It was less than a year ago that five-star basketball prospect Jalen Green appeared to be arguably Kentucky's top recruiting target in the 2020 class.
On Thursday afternoon, Green's recruitment took an unorthodox _ but not wholly unexpected _ turn. The 6-foot-5 combo guard from California announced that he will bypass college completely and spend next season in the G League, the developmental league for the NBA.
For the past several weeks, the recruiting debate surrounding Green was largely focused on which college would ultimately land his commitment.
Some analysts pegged Memphis _ and coach Penny Hardaway _ as the favorite to land the coveted backcourt star. The Tigers have zero high-profile commitments for the 2020 class, following a 2019 cycle in which they put together the nation's No. 1-ranked class.
More recently, Auburn emerged as a possible favorite. The addition of Green would have further bolstered Bruce Pearl's recruiting class, which is currently ranked No. 7 nationally and would have moved to No. 4 _ behind only UK, Duke and North Carolina _ if Green had picked the Tigers.
Instead, he'll turn pro and earn what is expected to be a lucrative contract for a player who just turned 18 years old in February. The G League introduced "Select Contracts" worth $125,000 per season in 2018 but Green will bring in more than that with his preps-to-pros move. The Herald-Leader was told this week that the league's offer to Green was in the $500,000 range.
Green's involvement with the G League will also differ from a normal player's experience in the developmental league. ESPN reported Thursday that Green _ and other recruits who choose this path _ will be placed on a specific team that will also feature a group of veteran players willing to be mentors to younger prospects. The team is expected to play a truncated schedule that would include games against G League teams, foreign national teams, and other squads.
Former Kentucky assistant Rod Strickland is in charge of the G League's professional path program that identifies and recruits high school prospects looking to skip college. The league is expected to be much more aggressive with its offers this year, and a few other highly touted prospects in the 2020 class could follow Green's path.
Kentucky signee Terrence Clarke was mentioned this week as another possibility to go the G League route, but he squashed those rumors with a social media post Wednesday morning, telling UK fans not to worry and that he would be playing for the Wildcats next season.
Green was one of the first players in the 2020 class to land a coveted scholarship offer from Kentucky, but the Cats stopped recruiting him after landing commitments from Clarke and Brandon Boston, another highly touted shooting guard in the 2020 class. Boston and Clarke have since signed with Kentucky and should be among the team's best players next season.
UK's coaches were also aware of Green's flirtation with a professional career right after high school, and the Herald-Leader was told that the possibility of him turning pro was a major factor in the program's decision to halt its recruitment.
Rivals.com ranks Green as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2020 class, and 247Sports pegs him as the No. 3 recruit in that group.
