Five-star guard Malik Monk commits to UK
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2016 five-star guard Malik Monk has committed to Kentucky.
Wednesday is the last day of the early signing period and sources told Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Eric Bossi that the Bentonville, Ark., guard and No. 6 player in the Rivals150 would commit to UK today.
Moments later, Monk confirmed the news via Twitter.
💯💯👌🏾 pic.twitter.com/DVrZHJihb1- Solo (@AhmadMonk) November 18, 2015
Monk joins De'Aaron Fox, Sacha Killeya-Jones, Wenyen Gabriel and Edrice Adebayo, all five-star prospects that have signed with the Cats.
Monk, whose brother Marcus Monk played football and basketball at Arkansas, picked the Cats over Arkansas, Kansas and Oregon.
Monk spoke with Rivals shortly after committing.
"Kentucky is a great fit for me and I what I want to get out of my future," Monk said. "I see myself being a part of a great team that is full of potential. I'm looking forward to continuing to get better under coach Calipari."
T.J.'s Analysis
Landing Monk gives John Calipari his best class since arriving at Kentucky in 2009 and is debatably the best class in college basketball history.
With the addition of Monk, Kentucky's 2016 recruiting class has a complete starting five but will be joined by some returnees from the 2015-2016 team.
Monk brings even more athleticism to the 2016 class and is one of the best dunkers in the class of 2016.
Monk's at his best with the ball in his hands, which will be interesting when he plays with Fox and the other guards that will return, but Monk in past interviews has insisted it won't be an issue.
Three-point shooting is one of Monk's strength, but he's just as capable as putting it on the floor, driving past defenders and finishing or drawing fouls at the rim.
Monk will add more versatility to Kentucky's roster next year. Teams trying to zone the Cats will have solid three-point shooters on the perimeter, and it's hard to imagine man-to-man defense working against Fox and Monk.
Much like Fox, Monk's defense is underrated. At 6 foot 4 and 185 pounds, Monk's length and size makes him a solid defender.
It's another significant recruiting victory for Calipari, his second in as many days. While UK always seemed to be first or second for Monk, Arkansas was always right there, too.
After Calipari missed on several 2015 recruits who elected to stay home, Monk and Adebayo both left their home state schools for the Bluegrass state.
