It was a bit of a shocker that college basketball's reigning recruiting king – John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats – were without a single verbal commitment just two months before the start of the early signing period.
Archie Goodwin
Photo by Nick Koza
The wait ended Wednesday when five-star prospect
Archie Goodwin of
Sylvan Hills (Sherwood, Ark.) delivered a verbal pledge to the Wildcats. Goodwin, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard, is ranked No. 5 in the MaxPreps Class of 2012 Top 100. He is the second Top 10 selection to come to a decision this week as No. 3 overall
Kyle Anderson picked UCLA late Monday.
"There was a lot of drama involved in this," said Mike Charles, Goodwin's club coach with Arkansas Wings Elite. "He told me it was a business decision. What that means to me is that he probably thinks he is a one-and-done and he thinks he has a better shot of doing that at Kentucky than Arkansas."
As a junior at Sylvan Hills, Goodwin helped the Bears go 27-3 and reach the Class 5A state championship game by pouring in 28.3 points per game. He earned several state player of the year honors and Junior All-American status from MaxPreps.
"Archie is extremely athletic and has great explosion. I think he can be exceptional," said Charles, who wouldn't turn down the idea that Goodwin could have the same type of impact as other recent Kentucky one-and-done guards like John Wall and Brandon Knight.
Goodwin chose Kentucky over Arkansas and Memphis. If not for his effervescent personality, the decision to head to Lexington could make for an akward senior year at Sylvan Hills, just outside the Razorback enclave of Little Rock.
"The kind of kid he is, he won't catch a lot of grief," Charles said. "He has the kind of personality that carries over. As avid as Razorbacks fans are, I don't think they will be real tough on him."
Kentucky will be looking for a second dose of good news later today when
Perry Ellis of
Wichita Heights (Wichita, Kan.) decides between the Wildcats, Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State. Ellis, a 6-8 power forward, is No. 26 in the MaxPreps Class of 2012 Top 100.
