Top 2018s Commit early
Less than a week removed from the end of their final AAU season, Covington Catholic SG CJ Fredrick and Corbin PG Andrew Taylor are off the board to D1 schools. Taylor will take his high scoring attack to Southern Conference member Furman. Fredrick will take his shooting to perennial Big Ten contender Iowa.
Our #1 player in the recent 2018 rankings, Fredrick comes off a strong Junior season at Covington Catholic where he averaged just shy of 20 PPG and shot 40.4% from 3. He improved on his shooting numbers during the AAU season with Indiana Elite. CJ shot over 50% for the AAU season. He also showed improvement in creating his own shot and getting to the rim.
Fredrick joins 6’6 SG Joe Wieskamp as the two commits for the Hawkeyes in the 2018 class. CJ turned down offers from fellow Big Ten members Indiana and Penn State. He also surprised many in Northern Kentucky when he opted to play for coach Fran McCaffery instead of coach Chris Mack and the Xavier Musketeers. CJ’s uncle Joe Fredrick played for Coach McCaffery at Notre Dame so there is a definite family connection between the Fredrick family and the leader of the Hawkeyes.
Our #2 in the most recent PHKY 2018 rankings, Andrew Taylor‘s commitment came out of nowhere at 10 pm on a Friday night and ended one of the more high profile recruitments in recent years for the Bluegrass State. Taylor received multiple D1 offers before his sophomore season of high school even started and held 25 offers before ending his recruitment. Without a doubt, Andrew Taylor has been a top player in the Commonwealth for several seasons now and is likely a front runner for 2018’s Mr. Basketball in Kentucky.
Andrew averaged just shy of 30 points per game for a Corbin team that fell in the regional championship in March. He recorded several triple doubles and averaged a double double, pulling down 11.5 rebounds per game from the PG position in addition to his scoring prowess. Taylor referenced a “great campus and a good chance to start early” as main reasons for pulling the trigger and becoming a Palladin. Former Kentucky walk-on Dwight Perry was the point man on Taylor’s recruitment for Furman.
It will be interesting to see if both Fredrick and Taylor wind up as finalists for Mr. Basketball. We would love to see them duel at Rupp Arena in March.