Why Kentucky basketball recruits took a tumble in the latest national rankings

Last week’s update to the national player rankings for the basketball class of 2022 provided more bad news than good for Kentucky’s incoming recruits.

Five-star combo guard Cason Wallace stayed put at No. 6 overall on the new list for 247Sports amid a senior season that has established him as one of the very best perimeter players in the country.

Shaedon Sharpe, who was the No. 1 player on the 247Sports list entering the season, was reclassified a few weeks ago into the 2021 rankings — at No. 3 overall — following his decision to enroll in classes at Kentucky for this semester.

That leaves five-star wing Chris Livingston and five-star point guard Skyy Clark in a UK class that was at one time — when Sharpe was a part of it — considered to be possibly the nation’s most talented group of recruits for next season.

Both Livingston and Clark took a tumble on the latest list.

Chris Livingston’s ranking

The new 2022 basketball rankings from 247Sports placed Livingston — a 6-foot-6 wing from Akron, Ohio — at No. 9 nationally. Obviously, that still makes him one of UK’s most highly rated recruits in years, but it’s a notable drop from his previous spot at No. 4 overall.

“He’s been fairly up and down this high school season,” 247Sports analyst Travis Branham told the Herald-Leader. “And that’s kind of been the case with him for a majority of his high school career. He just hasn’t been as consistent as you’d want to see out of one of the top five prospects in the country. Especially when it comes to shooting the basketball.”

Livingston is in his first season with perennial powerhouse Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and competing against a national schedule after previously playing lesser opponents in his home state of Ohio. Not only is Livingston matching up against better teams, he’s attempting to transition from a role of do-everything superstar to being part of a squad that features several other high-caliber college recruits.

Last high school season, he put up astounding numbers: 31.1 points, 15.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 4.7 steals and 4.0 blocked shots per game. This season, his stat line has varied from night to night, but the totals never reach that level of dominance.

There might be some growing pains now — and it’s completely understandable why Livingston would see a decline in production amid different circumstances — but what he’s adapting to this season should provide a head start on his college career at Kentucky, which will feature even more talent around him.

“It’s very valuable,” Branham said. “He’s not going to be a primary guy at the collegiate or NBA level. So learning how to play with other really good players at the high school level is very valuable. There are tons of players that are able to be that guy — go out and dominate, night in and night out, on a regular public school team. But then when they make that jump up to the collegiate level, now they’re having to learn a whole new entire way of basketball.

“So it’s definitely valuable for him to be in an environment like that. Learning how to win at the highest level of high school basketball. … And it’s definitely a learning curve.”

Livingston’s showing at the Hoophall Classic last week provided a good snapshot of his season. In the first game, he struggled shooting the ball — 2-for-9 from the floor, 0-for-5 on threes — and had four turnovers, but he was able to impact the Oak Hill victory with eight rebounds and six blocks. The next day, he did better from the field (7-for-14) and tallied 19 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and three blocks in another win.

It was the same story over the summer, when Livingston would disappear at times on his Adidas travel team, but look like the possible No. 1 recruit in the class on other nights. The powerful, athletic wing could be a tremendous do-whatever-the-team-needs player at UK next season. It’ll just be a matter of finding and embracing his role, and then performing on a consistent basis.

“He basically just impacted the game in a wide variety of ways,” Branham said of Livingston’s second game at Hoophall. “He showed off his versatility and what he can do. And, to me, that’s who he is. He’s really going to have to buy in to being a defender. He’s going to have to buy in to being a bit of a secondary scorer — not a primary scorer. And really kind of ramp up his motor and bring it every single night that he steps onto that floor. Because his overall efficiency of taking the ball and trying to go out and create his own shots — it’s just not fully a strength.

“But he’s a really gifted passer. He’s a versatile wing who can be a really good rebounder and defender if he wants to be. It’s just a matter of buying into those areas. Consistency is definitely one of those things that we’re monitoring over these last couple of months, before he heads to campus.”

Skyy Clark’s ranking

The rankings fall of Clark was a bit of a different case, and — like Livingston, who also dropped in the Rivals (eighth) and ESPN (12th) rankings — his tumble to 26th on the national list was not unique to the 247Sports update. Rivals dropped Clark six spots to No. 21 before the season started. ESPN put him at No. 25 last week.

A major contributing factor for Clark’s fall was out of his control.

The 6-3 point guard suffered a torn ACL back in July, just before the biggest recruiting evaluation window of the summer, and he was sidelined for several of the most crucial months on the trail.

The timing of Clark’s injury was likely even bigger from a rankings perspective than it would have been in previous recruiting cycles.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, college coaches were not allowed to watch recruits in person from March 2020 to June 2021, and many of the biggest recruiting showcases in the country were canceled during that time. It also meant far fewer evaluation opportunities for the recruiting analysts who come up with the national rankings.

With Clark out for the Peach Jam finals, other major summer events, and the start of a high school season in which coaches and recruiting analysts were clamoring to get into gyms and see as many players in person as possible, other prospects in his class made some gains while Clark was forced to rehab from a serious injury.

“There have been quite a few guys who have really ramped things up in the 2022 class,” Branham said. “So it’s really just praise to a lot of those guys. There were definitely a lot of guys who were deserving of a bump.”

Recruiting analysts are usually hesitant to drop a player too much due to injury, but these were unique circumstances. In all, 10 players who were ranked lower than Clark a few months ago are ranked higher than him now. All had good-to-great-to-incredible showings in that stretch.

The same day the new rankings dropped, Clark offered a level-headed view on Twitter.

“Too much emotion involved in rankings,” he said. “Being on a high school ranking list is not a guarantee that you (are) going to make it to the NBA. … Everyone on these lists are going to college for free because of their talents. Long story short, just keep working and getting better everyday.”

Clark will have an opportunity to rise back up in the 2022 rankings over the next few months. The UK signee made a remarkably quick return from knee surgery, getting back onto the court less than six months after the operation. Still, it’ll likely be a while before he truly gets back into the flow of the game, and his best basketball lies ahead of him, starting next season at UK.

For now, he’ll be on the court with his new teammates at defending national champion Montverde Academy (Fla.), where he transferred last offseason.

Branham got a chance to watch Clark in person at the Hoophall Classic just a few days after his return, and he praised the UK point guard recruit for his continued development as a playmaker.

“He’s doing what the team needs him to do,” Branham said. “He’s still trying to get back into the rhythm. His shot’s not there yet, like it was prior to the injury. It’s just one of those things — it’s going to take some time to get back into game shape. It takes time to get back into that rhythm and the speed of the game. So, his shot wasn’t falling, but he was out there trying to run the team and do his part for Montverde to win.

“And, overall, looking back to the fact that he tore his ACL in July, and he’s already back on the floor and actually competing and holding his own — that’s pretty remarkable. So, nothing but praise to Skyy and what he’s done throughout this rehab process. It’s just one of those things that’s going to take a little bit of time to get back into game shape and game rhythm.”

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