In most states, the 2012-2013 high school basketball season is now underway, meaning that recruiting has taken a place on the backburner to some degree. But through the first series of game there is still plenty of recruiting news going around regarding Kentucky.

Two new big men have received offers, while the other three remaining 2013 targets are all the subject of recruiting rumors.

Second 2015 Forward Gets Offer

After visiting Memphis (Ten.) Evangelical Christian HS on Sunday night to watch 2015 power forward Skal Labissiere, Kentucky coach John Calipari decided to extend an offer to the fast rising sophomore big man.

Labissiere is a native of Haiti who stands 6-foot-10, and is known for his shotblocking ability, athleticism, and rapid offensive improvement over the last year. While he currently is not ranked by Rivals.com, look for Labissiere to become at least a high four-star prospect when the rankings are updated for that class.

Labissiere joins New Jersey forward Karl Towns as the only 2015 prospects to have offers from the Wildcats. Towns could quickly leave that group, however, as the five-star is set to announce his decision on December 4th and is likely to also announce a reclassification to the 2014 class.

Kentucky is the presumed choice for Towns, while Labissiere is still in the early stages of the recruitment process, but also has an offer from Memphis.

Standing Tall

The other prospect to get a Kentucky offer this week is newly reclassified 2013 five-star center Dakari Johnson. Coach Calipari offered Johnson on Tuesday over the phone, giving Johnson offers from all six of his finalists - Kentucky, Florida, Georgetown, Kansas, Syracuse, and Ohio State.

Johnson is unlikely to make a decision before the spring, but some sources have speculated that he will make his decision before Kentucky's other interior target, Texas power forward Julius Randle.

Speaking of Randle, rumors are heavily indicating that his infatuation with Kentucky has rapidly cooled off, and that Texas is now widely considered the school to beat in Randle's recruitment.

Earlier this week, in an interview with Adam Zagoria of SNYTV.com, Johnson's mother, Makini Campbell, said that Kentucky is a "major player" in the recruitment of Dakari because of his familiarity with the school from living in Lexington for a few years.

But, Campbell also went on to say that a big part of Johnson's recruiting relationship with Kentucky will come down to the decisions of Willie Cauley-Stein and Nerlens Noel to turn pro after this season.

Cats vs Cats?

All the talk about emerging Kentucky target Aaron Gordon of late has been about a San Jose Mercury News story where Gordon's AAU coach said that Aaron wants to win a National Championship.

With that news on the table, speculation has run rampant that Gordon is really only considering Arizona and Kentucky, both of whom should be ranked in the top five pre-season next year, and is not considering Washington.

Sources near the Kentucky program have gone even further, speculating that Kentucky coaching staff is pushing hard for Gordon to make a commitment to Kentucky sooner rather than later, presumably so the staff can turn their attention towards Andrew Wiggins.

With Randle supposedly cooling heavily on Kentucky, it seems that a combination of Aaron Gordon and Dakari Johnson would not only be more realistic for Kentucky, but probably even better, as the Wildcats would get two additional five-star commitments.


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