Wenyen Gabriel (Photo : Reuters)
It was a tale of three power forwards choosing from two of the top programs in the nation.
Wenyen Gabriel, Javin DeLaurier and Harry Giles are three of the top power forwards in the 2016 class and all three of them are within the circles of Duke's recruiting machine.
It was apparent that not all three of them could be in the same school together, even though the three players seem to have a common preference for Duke.
It was even rumored that Wenyen Gabriel called it his Dream school, according to comments from Maryland site Testudo Times (Maryland was also in the running for Gabriel). Amaymon27 said: "Initially Duke was his dream school but he would have popped the commitment by now if he liked them."
On September 27, DeLaurier committed to Duke and it was expected to push Gabriel away to either Maryland or Kentucky.
On October 1st, Gabriel committed to Kentucky through an announcement on ESPN.com
"I felt a connection to all the coaches in my final five, but ultimately it came down to Duke and Kentucky," Gabriel said, "and I just felt like I couldn't go wrong either way. Kentucky made it clear that they had a plan for me personally and for helping me to take my game to the next level."
Most observers would connect the dots and believe that DeLaurier's commit sealed the deal for the Wildcats.
Gabriel is actually the higher ranked player but initially, DeLaurier's athleticism put the recruiting world on notice. Gabriel improved his stock during the summer, from 84th to 23rd on ESPN 100 (DeLaurier is ranked 40th).
Just like Anthony Davis (another Calipari recruit), Gabriel had a growth spurt which made him a guard in a 6'9" frame. Because of that, the Scouting report from ESPN said "he is productive both inside and outside and possesses terrific length, size and touch."
