Markelle Fultz, a 5-star shooting guard is caught in a recruiting tug-of-war between two bitter rivals, Louisville and Kentucky.
The rivalry between Louisville and Kentucky rages on. With both squads sporting Hall of Fame coaches in Rick Pitino and John Calipari, it will be difficult to choose between the two of them. Markelle Fultz, a 6-1 guard who had trouble making varsity in high school, now has that dilemma.
Markelle Fultz has caught the fancy of both programs, among others like Arizona, North Carolina and Maryland. Fultz grew into a 6-5 guard who can score but he's also developing his playmaking skills and developing into a big point guard, similar to D'Angelo Russell. He is also a late bloomer, so experts believe he has a ton of upside.
According to the Courier-Journal, Fultz has scheduled visits to Louisville and Arizona but it was noted from 247 Sports that he is not planning a visit to Lexington, Kentucky because, as his trainer Keith Williams put it, "Markelle knows what he needs to know about Kentucky."
That could be interpreted both ways: it could be that he's confident with Kentucky and just checking on the other possible options or conversely, Kentucky might be lagging behind.
The experts on the 247 Crystal Ball predictions have Kentucky as the favorite, though with Arizona and Louisville lagging behind. Arizona may step up their game now since they lost their first 2016 recruit TJ Leaf, who recently decommitted.
Fultz has been identified as one of summer basketball's breakout players as he continues to utilize his growth surge to improve his game. His recruiting could still pick up as other schools take notice, but there's a sense that one of the two rivals will eventually get the final nod.