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Kentucky basketball: Wenyen Gabriel committs to Wildcats, coach John Calipari

By The Sports Xchange
Kentucky Wildcats head basketball coach John Calipari landed one of the top recruits in the country when Wenyen Gabriel committed to the team yesterday over Duke, Maryland, and other schools. Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Kentucky Wildcats head basketball coach John Calipari landed one of the top recruits in the country when Wenyen Gabriel committed to the team yesterday over Duke, Maryland, and other schools. Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

One of the top high school basketball prospects in the Class of 2016 committed to Kentucky on Thursday.

Wenyen Gabriel chose the Wildcats and coach John Calipari over Duke, Maryland, Connecticut and Providence.

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The 6-foot-9 Gabriel is considered a strong defensive player who's expected to have an immediate impact at Kentucky.

"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."

Gabriel visited Kentucky last weekend and met with Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski on Tuesday at his school but never made an official visit to the Blue Devils' campus.

A native of Manchester, N.H., Gabriel played at Trinity High School before transferring to Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Massachusetts.

"Kentucky made it clear that they had a plan for me personally and for helping me to take my game to the next level," Gabriel said.

Kentucky already has received commitments for next year's class from Tai Wynyard, a front-line player from New Zealand, and forward Sacha Killeya-Jones.

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