One of the major blow-up recruits of the travel circuit from this past summer came to an abrupt college decision, as quickly as he announced his name onto the scene as an elite recruit. Wenyen Gabriel, a 6-foot-10 forward from Wilbraham & Monson, committed to the Kentucky Wildcats on Thursday morning.

Coming up through the ranks, Gabriel was more of a willowy type of forward who had yet to really fill out into his body and had ball skills that he hadn’t quite understood how to use. However, his game began to take full stride this past winter and in getting a chance to see him go up against Thon and Mature Maker and now Kentucky guard Jamal Murray, the senior big man displayed interior toughness, budding face-up skills, and production from 17-feet and in. It was that evaluation of Gabriel’s that made me realize just how good he might become.

Running with the Mass Rivals squad this past summer alongside recent UMass commit Chris Baldwin, the versatile big man was the catalyst for his group in reaching the Adidas Summer Championships in Las Vegas. He followed it up with sparkling performance after sparkling performance at the Adidas Nations event in California just a few days later, cementing himself as a top-25 recruit nationally.

Beating out the likes of Maryland, Duke, Providence, and UConn for him, Gabriel should be an excellent addition in Lexington where he can play various spots in the frontcourt. On the Adidas circuit, Gabriel averaged just over 10 points and five boards per game, but in just 15 minutes of action. However, when adjusted per-32 minutes, that ranks out to close to a 21 and 11 average while shooting nearly 60-percent from the field. He is a rim protector, energy-giver, rebounder, rim-runner, and most of all, a high-class individual that will be an immediate presence at the SEC blueblood come next winter.

 Joining Sacha Killeya-Jones in the frontcourt for 2016, a guy that he had battled against at the Adidas Summer Championships last July, Kentucky will remain in the hunt in the backcourt and on the wings as they remain heavily involved for the likes of De’Aaron Fox, Kobi Simmons, Miles Bridges, and Marques Bolden.