This Day in UK Athletics History: Wall Signs with UK Basketball

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s basketball program received a National Letter of Intent from John Wall, Coach John Calipari announced on Wednesday, giving the Wildcats what many recruiting experts claim is the number one class in the country.

Wall, a senior at Word of God High School in Raleigh, N.C., is rated as the overall number one player in the country according to Rivals.com and was a finalist for the Naismith National High School Player of the Year.

The 6-4 Wall earned All-American honors, while leading Word of God Academy to the NCISSA 1A title game this year and state titles in the two years prior.

The Raleigh, N.C. native participated in the Nike Hoops Summit game in Portland, Ore., in April, as a member of the 2009 USA Junior National Select Team. He set the game record with 11 assists and tying the record for steals with five, while also scoring 13 points.

“I’ve recruited John for nearly two years and I’ve gotten to know him to be not only a fine player but a fine person,” Calipari said. “He’s a terrific teammate who wants to win, yet driven to personally improve. I’m very excited for the opportunity to add him to our family.”

Recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer said Wall’s addition to UK’s 2009 class “makes the group one of the best recruiting classes of all time.”

Wall joins Eric Bledsoe (Birmingham, Ala.), DeMarcus Cousins (Mobile, Ala.), Darnell Dodson (Greenbelt, Md.), Kentucky Mr. Basketball Jon Hood (Madisonville) and Daniel Orton (Oklahoma City, Okla.) as members of UK’s 2009 signing class, which has been widely heralded as the number one recruiting class in the country.

The late signing period ends Wednesday, May 20.