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Why Kentucky basketball's 2021 recruiting ranking does not tell the whole story

LEXINGTON — Need proof the college basketball landscape has changed? Just look at Kentucky basketball’s 2021 recruiting ranking.

In eight of Calipari’s first 12 years at Kentucky, the Wildcats signed the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the country, according to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, which combines the most respected online rankings. Kentucky’s recruiting class was ranked lower than second just once in that span, in 2015 when it was ranked third.

That history puts the Wildcats’ incoming freshman class in uncharted waters. It arrived on campus this spring as the No. 5-ranked class in the country.