Two out of three UK commitments were named to the McDonald's All-American Game. After several years in Chicago the game will be played March 28th in Atlanta.
Five-star signees Keldon Johnson (West) and Immanuel Quickley (East) were considered locks for the prestigious game and were both included, but four-star shooting guard Tyler Herro just missed the cut. Only one four-star player made the list.
With the addition of Johnson and Quickley, Calipari has now had 32 players at Kentucky that have been named to the McDonald's All-American Game.
"Keldon, his dad and I started on a plan to making him an NBA player last March, which consisted of two workouts a day and 5 a.m. wakeup calls," Jeremy Grubbs said. "The plan to get his body right and sharpen his skills was embraced by Keldon and the McDonald's All-American Game selection was just another step on the way to getting where he wants to go."
Grubbs is Johnson's trainer and the Ohio Basketball Club AAU coach. Few know Johnson's game more than Grubbs.
The Oak Hill Academy star put on a show on ESPN on Monday when he finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Oak Hill moved to 25-0 on the season.
Immanuel Quickley has a history with John Calipari and seemed to be a UK lean months before he committed to the Cats back in September. On Monday he finished with 19 points in a loss but showcased that he can score anywhere on the floor.
A John Calipari point guard committed to UK and played in the McDonald's All-American Game every year with the exception of 2009 and 2012. John Wall wasn't eligible for the game and UK didn't recruit a point guard in the 2012 class because of transfer Ryan Harrow. In 2010 Harrow was considered one of the biggest snubs in the McDonald's All-American game.
That may be Tyler Herro this year. He didn't receive the national attention that other 2018 recruits have received over the months and years and that may be what kept him from being included.
UK targets Zion Williamson and Moses Brown both made the East Team.
Here's a list of John Calipari UK commitments that played in the world's most prestigious high school game (bold represents current players or commits):
Bam Adebayo (2016), Devin Booker (2014), Isaiah Briscoe (2015), DeMarcus Cousins (2009), Anthony Davis (2011), De'Aaron Fox (2016), Quade Green (2017), Archie Goodwin (2012), Aaron Harrison (2013), Andrew Harrison (2013), Dakari Johnson (2013), Keldon Johnson (2018), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2011), Sacha Killeya-Jones (2016), Kevin Knox (2017), Terrence Jones (2010), Brandon Knight (2010), Doron Lamb (2010), Marcus Lee (2013), Trey Lyles (2014), Malik Monk (2016), Alex Poythress (2012), Immanuel Quickley (2018), Julius Randle (2013), Nick Richards (2017), Marquis Teague (2011), Karl-Anthony Towns (2014), Tyler Ulis (2014), Jarred Vanderbilt (2017), P.J. Washington (2017), Kyle Wiltjer (2011) and James Young (2013).
2018 McDonald's All-American teams listed below:
