Top Landing Spots for Jaden McDaniels, CBB's No. 1 Forward Recruit for 2019

The suitors' list is long for Jaden McDaniels, and the serenades outside his window are growing ever louder as teams vie for the nation's top forward recruit, as ranked by 247Sports. 

McDaniels is 247Sports' No. 5 overall recruit in the 2019 recruiting class and the No. 1 overall forward. Listed at 6'11" and 185 pounds, McDaniels averaged 23 points and 10 rebounds per game his senior year. National recruiting analyst Josh Gershon of 247Sports said McDaniels is a "plus athlete with [a] terrific feel for the game" and "good instincts on defense." He also noted he's a "competent shooter out to 3 [and] can also hit pull-up jumpers and floaters from midrange."

McDaniels has claimed a spot in the upcoming McDonald's All-American Game and the 2018 USA Basketball U18 men's national team.

There are some serious college basketball blue bloods on his list of suitors, which speaks to the esteem in which McDaniels is held. There are four schools listed with a "warm" or high level of interest, according to 247Sports: Kentucky, San Diego State, Washington and Texas.

The big confounding factor here is that recruiting experts, as we'll see, are having a tougher time than usual getting a firm sense of where McDaniels is leaning. That feeling has intensified as McDaniels halted his recruiting process so he could pursue another state championship at Federal Way High School in Washington (a pursuit, by the way, that just ended in the semifinals).

Let's break down each of these situations, ranking the schools based on level of likelihood that he'll don their cap when the time comes.

Sorry, Coach. The truth can hurt. Outside the top four, several schools threw their hats in the ring but are now considered long shots to land McDaniels.

To call out one program in particular, UCLA was once considered a front-runner but fell by the wayside recently after, you know, its whole program fell apart.

Here's the group, listed in no particular order:

• Arizona
• UCLA
• Kansas
• Duke
• Oklahoma
• Michigan

The 6'11" McDaniels has a versatile game that has drawn comparisons to Kevin Durant, who went to Texas. That's one possible explanation for the connection between McDaniels and the Longhorns.

But this, as with many other aspects of the McDaniels recruitment, is relying more on hope than anything else. Under the guidance of his father, Will, McDaniels is staying tight-lipped on his intentions. At no point in the process has he named a front-runner. That makes for a murky situation.

Texas head coach Shaka Smart is upping his recruiting game, but his team remains fairly mediocre on the court. (Although exact definitions of "mediocre" can vary, the Longhorns' 16-14 record as of March 5, which places them sixth out of 10 teams in the Big 12 conference, might fit the bill for a few observers.)

If you're someone who views the notion of mediocrity as something less than optimal, you may choose to consider Texas' on-court performance as something that doesn't help build the program's case to land McDaniels. What's more, the other three schools benefit from clearer ties to McDaniels, and that leaves Texas on the outside looking in.

At a glance, it may seem strange to see a mid-major on this list at all. But at one point, San Diego State may have held its top slot.

That's because the Aztecs have an ace in the hole: Jaden's older brother, Jalen, is already on the team. 

The 6'8" Jalen was no recruiting slouch as the No. 29 power forward in the 2016 class, but Jaden's ceiling is higher with the No. 1 ranking, making his suitor pool much deeper. 

Still, the desire to play alongside his brother and the closeness that has developed between the SDSU staff and Team McDaniels is evident and surely a big factor.

"My brother's coaches [are] like a family because he's been there for so long," McDaniels told 247Sports. "Every time I go down there I talk to them, it's just a big family."

It's worth noting, however, that multiple lawsuits were filed against the older McDaniels in December. The suits both allege he filmed a female student during a sexual act, then shared the video with his friends via social media. The team supported him and has indicated he will stay on the team for now, but if the situation gets worse, it may be difficult for the Aztecs to adhere to that stance.

Who knows? SDSU still may be right at the top. But as of now, the tea leaves aren't looking like the ones when they're hinting at something positive.

Jalen's ongoing situation could make SDSU radioactive for an elite player who surely already has marketability on his mind. The Aztecs just stepped on a slippery slope.

When you see Kentucky in the thick of one of these recruiting races, the instinct is to make Big Blue the default landing place. The hometown and family stories are nice, but when it comes down to it, John Calipari's NBA machine is often just too tempting.

Calipari has visited McDaniels more than once out in metro Seattle where McDaniels lives, and McDaniels has made the trek to Lexington. 

Rivals recruiting expert Eric Bossi recently said Kentucky had an inside track—while simultaneously noting that McDaniels was the hardest recruit in the country to get a read on.

There's more good news for Wildcats fans. For one, McDaniels once called Kentucky his dream school.  

"I'd be interested," he said in an interview with Ben Roberts of the Lexington Herald-Leader last June. "A lot of pros came out of there, and they're a great school. It would mean a lot, just because of the history. To get an offer from Kentucky, that's something big."

Well, he got that offer. McDaniels now stands to get more playing time there than once was thought possible, as Calipari has watched several other forward recruits slip through his grasp. This made Kentucky a late entrant into the McDaniels mix, though the Wildcats appear to be gaining ground—and fast.

Family seems important to all of Team McDaniels, and what says family more than the hometown school?

But there are practical factors in play here as well, and many of those also speak to McDaniels staying in Seattle.

When you can surround yourself with friendly faces and those faces can ball out, that has to be a pretty good bonus. So it is with Isaiah Stewart, who in January committed to the Huskies. Stewart is just one spot below McDaniels at No. 6 on 247's big board.

"I talk to (Isaiah) all the time; we're cool," McDaniels said at the time of Stewart's commitment. "He's my brother. Last night I texted him congratulations, and he's just trying to get me to come. When people recruit me, everything sounds good."

There's more. A treasure chest of gold doubloons fell in Washington's lap when former 5-star point guard Quade Green transferred to Seattle from Kentucky after he was moved to shooting guard and saw his minutes drop.

For the time being, McDaniels is keeping his cards close, refusing to pick a favorite. Now that his high school season is over, though, this could heat back up in a flash. Given that Washington is flush with talent and located in his backyard, there are more signs pointing there than anywhere else.