5-star point guard TyTy Washington trending toward Kentucky over Arizona

TyTy Washington seems destined to suit up as a Wildcat this fall. But it might not be as an Arizona Wildcat.

The five-star point guard out of Chandler is trending toward Kentucky, according to 247Sports national recruiting analyst Travis Branham. Branham submitted a Crystal Ball prediction Thursday that Washington will choose Kentucky.

Branham selected a ‘high’ confidence level of 7 in his prediction, well below a ‘lock’ of 10.

Several other 247Sports insiders have since submitted their own Crystal Ball predictions picking Washington to Kentucky, though it’s unclear if they’re operating with any additional intel than what Branham provided to CatsPause.com.

“We are still over a week out from the TyTy commitment but as of now signs are pointing that the five-star prospect will land with Kentucky,” Branham told the Kentucky website. “The fit makes sense here given the huge opportunity he has to come in and take the reins at the point guard spot in Lexington and Cal’s track record of success with guys in his position.”

Earlier this week Washington set a May 15 commitment date, which likely means he has zeroed in on where he wants to play college basketball.

Arizona seemed to be in good position to land the 6-foot-3 point guard until recently.

Washington visited Tucson two weekends ago and attended the Arizona football spring game, which he watched with members of the UA basketball team.

Washington previously told Sports Illustrated he FaceTimes with Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd at least twice a day.

“He’s really coming hard and letting me know that he wants me to come there and be the point guard. He’s really passionate,” Washington told SI. “Just seeing how they ran the offense at Gonzaga and how free flowing it was is attractive to me. I love the way he used Jalen Suggs because me and Jalen have a lot of similarities in our games.”

While playing for Arizona would have its advantage, so would Kentucky.

Kentucky coach John Calipari is seeking an elite point guard to make up for the departure of freshman Devin Askew and the decommitment of Nolan Hickman. Another Kentucky guard, Davion Mintz, has declared for the NBA Draft with the option to return to college.

Unlike Lloyd, Calipari has a deep track record of developing NBA point guards as a college head coach including Derrick Rose (Memphis), John Wall, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The other finalists for Washington are Kansas, Baylor, LSU, and Oregon.

Washington is currently partaking in the Iverson Classic All-Star Game, where he is joined by several other top class of 2021 players.