Louisville basketball’s top 2020 target makes a big decision

One of Louisville basketball’s top 2020 targets made a decision in his recruitment that could help the Cards land his services.

Reclassifying has become a huge part of the college basketball recruiting landscape over the last several years, as players from one class jump up to get to their school of choice faster or even move back a year to help with getting more exposure and more offers. For Louisville basketball, one of their top targets in the class of 2020 made an announcement that could have huge ramifications on his chances of ending up a Card.

That decision came from Jaemyn Brakefield, who announced via Twitter that he would be staying in the class of 2020 and that his recruitment was “wide open,” after many believed that he would jump up a year into the class of 2019.

Back in February our own Stephen Kalayil wrote about who Chris Mack and the Cards were putting their primary focus on in the class of 2020. At the top of the list was Jaemyn Brakefield, a 6’10, 210 pound power forward out of Huntington, West Virginia and composite four star according to 247 Sports. He’s also a teammate of soon to be Louisville Cardinal, Quinn Slazinski.

Mack and his staff have been on Brakefield for quite some time now, offering him a scholarship during an unofficial visit back in October, and have been seen as having a leg up on the competition due to the relationship between the two. Brakefield was quoted this winter as saying:

"“Chris Mack is probably the coolest coach in college basketball. He has a great personality and I love the way he coaches. I really like watching how he coaches his team and that’s why I like Louisville so much.”"

Louisville’s biggest competition for Brakefield currently seems to be the team from down I-64, the Kentucky Wildcats and master recruiter John Calipari. Some would say the two already had their first recruiting battle in the class of 2019 over Aidan Ighieon, who we know ultimately ended up signing with the Cards, but anyone close to the program would dispute whether or not the Cats ultimately extended a scholarship offer to the four star big man out of New York.

That would mean the battle for Brakefield could be the first big recruiting battle between Mack and Calipari, something in itself that will be fun to watch over the coming months through the AAU circuit schedule. Brakefield also holds offers from Ole Miss, Baylor, and Alabama, and also has begun receiving interest from the likes of Duke and North Carolina.

So why is it such a big deal that Brakefield is staying in the class of 2020? Well, if you do the math on the available scholarships that the Cards currently have available, you’ll quickly see adding the four star big man would be impossible without some type of roster turnover. If Brakefield would’ve stayed in the class of 2019, it ultimately would’ve ended any chances of the Cards landing their top target without something happening to the current team.

Missing out on Brakefield wouldn’t be the end of the world, but for a roster that will need big men entering into the 2020-2021 (seems like forever away), as Malik Williams would be entering his senior season (along with Jordan Nwora assuming he stays past this year or next) while Steven Enoch would’ve exhausted his college eligibility.

Brakefield would be a dynamic addition to the the Cards and the perfect fit for Chris Mack. As Stephen Kalayil put it in February:

"“Brakefield demonstrated that he possesses an excellent outside shot and can play above the rim. Classified as a  power forward, he can compete for playing time right way and provide elite depth at both forward spots behind Sutton, Nwora, Williamson and Withers.”"

The next step in the recruiting process will be getting Brakefield on campus for an official visit after hosting him once already unofficially, something that only Ole Miss has done thus far in his recruitment.

Things are going to get interesting over the next few months with the talented big man as more and more schools get involved and as Chris Mack and John Calipari go head-to-head for an elite talent.