COMMITMENT: Askew picks UK
As expected, Kentucky landed a major commitment from a five-star basketball prospect late Thursday evening.
Five-star point guard Devin Askew of Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei picked the Wildcats on a national ESPN broadcast.
Rated the No. 9 prospect in the Class of 2021, Askew is a candidate to reclassify to the Class of 2020 and lead next year's Kentucky basketball team. There is also now a question of whether he might team up with five-star guard Cade Cunningham, the No. 2-ranked prospect in the 2020 class, as part of a super backcourt.
Louisville's coaching staff under Chris Mack invested a large amount of time, energy, and attention into recruiting Askew over the last year so his choice of Kentucky is a particularly big blow to the Cardinals, who have suffered so much from John Calipari's recruiting dominance over the past decade.
Rivals.com's Corey Evans has compared Askew to former Villanova guard Jalen Brunson in terms of his competitiveness, skill set, and the fact that his athleticism has been a source of some questions even though he is highly regarded.
Askew is Kentucky's lone commitment from the 2021 class now that five-star prospect Terrence Clarke has reclassified to the 2020 class. UK also has commitments from five-star guard BJ Boston and four-star forwards Lance Ware and Cam'Ron Fletcher from the 2020 class.
If Askew reclassifies, whether Cunningham picks Kentucky or not, the Wildcats will have a good opportunity to finish with the No. 1 class in the 2020 recruiting cycle.
Related: What scouts have said about Askew over the past year