Texas Basketball Recruiting: Kentucky closing 5-star 2020 PG target Jeremy Roach?

Another elite prospect was lost for the Texas Longhorns on the recruiting trail of late, with 5-star PG Jeremy Roach potentially landing with Kentucky.

The fortunes on the recruiting trail of late for the Texas basketball program isn’t great in terms of what it can haul in for the 2019 or 2020 classes. The 2019 Texas basketball recruiting class does have a solid group in line so far, ranking at No. 11 in the nation per 247Sports Team Composite Rankings. But, it is starting to see some key 2020 recruiting cycle targets like five-star point guard Jeremy Roach get away to some of the more tradition basketball programs.

Jeremy Roach is a pretty big target for this 2020 recruiting class for the Texas Longhorns, but it seems like there’s other programs closing in on him at this point. The Paul Vi Catholic Fairfax, VA, standout guard is one of the nation’s top 15 2020 high school prospects and the best point guard. Roach is also the best prospect out of the state of Virginia.

The issue for the Horns in pursuing a recruit like Jeremy Roach is that he’s right in the fertile territory for some of the nation’s top programs. Roach holds 10 offers, and four of the teams that look to be closing in on his commitment are some of the best college hoops puts forward. The highlights of his offer sheet include the North Carolina Tar Heels, Duke Blue Devils, Villanova Wildcats, and Kentucky Wildcats.

Per the 247Sports Crystal Ball Predictions, Kentucky and Villanova are the favorite to land the pledge of Jeremy Roach. But, those Crystal Ball Predictions do give head coach John Calipari and Kentucky the slight edge over Villanova.

Meanwhile, Rivals FutureCast actually gives the edge to Villanova to land the commitment of Jeremy Roach at this point. The national recruiting sites seem to have it in mind that Kentucky and Villanova have the main grasp on Roach’s recruitment and pledge.

Moreover, some other big time in-state college hoops programs like the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies are pursuing Roach heavily and sent him an offer, but largely to no avail. With this level of competition on the recruiting trail for the nation’s top 2020 high school point guard doesn’t seem to be worth it either for anyone that has yet to offer him.

That’s especially true since Roach narrowed down his list to four schools back in November 2018. Those four schools that he narrowed down his finalists to were UNC, Duke, Villanova, and Kentucky.

This 6-foot-2 and 170 pound elite point guard has some of the better facilitating and driving skills that you can ever see from a recruit. Roach also has a solid jumper and creating ability that matches some of the best guards from this recruiting cycle.

Since the Horns are pretty much all but eliminated in the pursuit of Roach’s commitment at this point, it is worth watching to see where he ends up. Programs like Kentucky and Duke are very fun to watch for general basketball fans year in and year out.

Some of the most recent events in the recruiting timeline for Jeremy Roach includes his offer and coach visit from Kentucky and visits with Duke and Villanova. This all makes sense since those three schools could boil down his commitment decision when it’s all said and done.