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James Wiseman, No. 1 in the 2019 category, entered Tuesday ahead of Memphis over Kentucky.
Wiseman announced his decision on SportsCenter, highlighting a unicorn bearing the Memphis logo. He has been called "unicorn", like other players with his unique size and abilities. He is also part of the "Unicorn family" with RJ Hampton and Jalen Green, elite prospects for 2020.
Wiseman, a 7-foot student from East High School, Tennessee, is the first # 1 candidate to commit to Memphis since the launch of the ESPN Recruitment Database in 2007. He is also the first of the top 10 candidates to choose the Tigers since Adonis Thomas is engaged in 2011.
Wiseman made official visits to Memphis, Kentucky, Florida, Kansas and Vanderbilt, but it was still going to be a battle between Memphis and Kentucky.
At the beginning of his recruitment, Wiseman was considered a skinny from Kentucky. John Calipari was one of the first hard-to-pursue coaches and the Wildcats put him first in the 2019 category.
However, when Memphis hired Penny Hardaway to replace Tubby Smith in March, things started to move in favor of the Tigers. Hardaway coached Wiseman on the grassroots football circuit with Team Penny / Bluff City Legends. He had also coached her at East High School en route to a state championship. Hardaway immediately made Wiseman its first target in 2019, and Wiseman made many visits to the Memphis campus this fall and was as recent as the beginning of this month.
Kentucky never really disappeared with Wiseman's hiring, but the relationship between Wiseman and Hardaway was too difficult to overcome.
Wiseman is considered one of the elite hopes of the 2019 category for two years. He maintained his No.1 rank after a strong summer on the Nike EYBL circuit with the Bluff City Legends. He averaged 15.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks, while shooting better than 50% of the field. Wiseman defeated prospect number 3 Vernon Carey Jr. in July, finishing with 23 points and nine rebounds in a point win.
"James Wiseman is one of the few players in the class to demonstrate his ability to have a dominant performance at both ends of the room," said ESPN's National Recruitment Director, Paul Biancardi. "His physical tools are elite by NBA standards because he has a wingspan of 7 feet 6 inches and a standing range of 9 feet 3½ inches." The combination of his physical measurements, his finishing abilities and his talent for blocking the ball makes it no. " 1 in the class. "
ESPN's editorial expert, Jonathan Givony, featured at Wiseman as the first choice of his mock-up project for early 2020, in October.
"In painting, Wiseman uses his characteristic gesture, a jump hook in his left hand on his right shoulder," said Biancardi. "His frame and shooting blocking skill reminds me of Jermaine O Neal at the same stage, and he runs with ease like a young Sam Perkins."
Wiseman is Memphis' third commitment in 2019, joining five-star forward D.J. Jeffries (# 21) and four-star Malcolm Dandridge. Jeffries, who also played for Hardaway on the baseball circuit, signed for Memphis in October after leaving Kentucky in July.
Memphis is also in the composition of five-star attackers Trendon Watford (No. 23) and Precious Achiuwa (No. 10). Both players have already visited the Tigers Campus.
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