Kentucky has landed their second commitment in the Class of 2016, as five-star forward Wenyen Gabriel committed to the Wildcats on Thursday morning.
“I’m just so happy to announce after weeks and weeks of contemplating and thinking that I’m going to be a Kentucky Wildcat,” Gabriel said on ESPN.com.
Gabriel joins four-star forward Sacha Killeya-Jones in Kentucky’s 2016 recruiting class, saying that he picked the Wildcats because he appreciated the up-front style that head coach John Calipari recruited him. He’s also excited about the plan Kentucky has for him, having just finished a visit to Lexington last weekend.
“All of us, we’re just basketball players,” Gabriel said. “Sacha’s there, and he’s recruiting a lot of players that people say they’re like me. But we can all play together on the floor. I have no problem guarding any position, I have perimeter skills as well.”
Gabriel was one of the fastest risers in the high school ranks this summer. A borderline top 100 recruit as a junior, Gabriel exploded this summer, putting on a myriad of impressive performances that not only got him offers from local powerhouses like Providence and UConn but that put him square in the crosshairs of Duke and Kentucky.
Currently ranked as the No. 17 recruit in the country, according to Rivals, Gabriel is a versatile 6-foot-9 forward that can do everything from protect the rim defensively and catching lobs around the basket to hitting threes and beating slower defenders off the dribble. He needs to add some strength, but his skill and athleticism make him a very intriguing long-term prospect.