Photo courtesy of UK Athletics
The 2018 Kentucky women’s basketball recruiting class is a good one and preseason honors are rolling in for Blair Green and Rhyne Howard, who both signed with Kentucky during the November signing period.
Earlier this week, the watch list for the 2018 High School Girl’s Naismith Player of the Year was announced and both UK signee’s names made the list.
Green, a 6-0, guard from Harlan County High School, is rated a four-star prospect by ESPN and the ninth best wing in the 2018 class. During her junior season, Green played at a high level, averaging 23.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Her strong play led Harlan County to a 28-3 record and an appearance in the regional championship game.
Green will be one of the favorite’s to win the states Miss Basketball Award, which is awarded following the season. An all-state performer in consecutive seasons, Green chose the Wildcats over Dayton, Louisville, UCLA, and Tennessee.
Howard, a 6-2, guard from Bradley Central High School in Cleveland, TN., is rated a five-star prospect by ESPN, where she is ranked the tenth best guard in the 2018 class. In addition, ProspectNation.com ranks her as the 18th best player in the 2018 class.
Howard is fresh off a junior season where she averaged 19.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.6 steals, 3.8 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game. An excellent three-point shooter at 40 percent, Howard was named the 2017 TSSAA Class AAA Miss Basketball runner-up. Additionally, she was named the Unanimous District 5 AAA Player of the Year in 2016 and 2017, while being named all-state by the Tennessee Sports Writer’s Association as a sophomore and junior. Howard totaled 153 steals as a junior, which ranked third overall in the state of Tennessee.
Congratulations to both future Wildcats on a tremendous preseason honor. Best of luck to Blair and Rhyne during their senior seasons.
