5-star Carlton Bragg: UK equals 'success all day'

FISHERS, Ind. - The University of Kentucky's success in producing NBA draft picks has made an impression on five-star Cleveland power forward Carlton Bragg, who listed the Wildcats as one of the teams recruiting him most actively.

"Kentucky, if you go there - I'm not trying to brag or nothing - but it's one and done, regardless," Bragg said Saturday morning. "It's success all day."

The 6-foot-8 Bragg, who is ranked No. 7 in the 2015 class by 247Sports.com, said at after a morning victory for the Ohio Basketball Club at the adidas Gauntlet session that UK, Ohio State, Arizona and "especially Illinois" have been in the most contact with him since last month's live evaluation period. He added, though, that pretty much every school recruiting him, including the University of Louisville, is also in regular communication.

Bragg, an athletic, skilled player who can play either forward spot, is one of the select few big men to have a scholarship offer from UK in the 2015 class, and he plans to visit there at some point. He said he plans to cut his list of potential colleges in September.

UK offered Bragg a scholarship in January after coach John Calipari and his staff watched him during a showcase event in Paducah. Bragg had said just prior to that that an offer from the Wildcats was probably the only one he lacked that he coveted.

"(Getting the offer) was pretty good," he said. "It made me work even harder for that because they are probably the top team in the country. You see obviously where they go. It's just a great experience, and I love everything about them."

Bragg said he was impressed that Calipari started five freshmen in the Final Four last season.

"I love that he loves playing freshmen," Bragg said. "… Coach Cal gets it done."

In the 247Sports Crystal Ball feature, in which recruiting media make predictions on where prospects will go to college, UK is seen as the slight favorite to get Bragg, over Ohio State and Kansas.

Bragg is a home-state priority for the Buckeyes, and he said their pursuit of him as picked up even more since five-star Franklin, Ohio, junior Luke Kennard decided to commit to Duke.

"They keep direct-messaging me (on Twitter) that they keep losing Ohio kids," Bragg said with a laugh.

Illinois would seem to be a strong contender, too.

Bragg said he has no favorites in his recruitment but that the Illini have "set the bar high" as far as the level of interest he's received. He rated UK's interest in him as "about a 7 or 8" and that the Illini's are "a 9."

Bragg said he likes everything about Groce.

"Great coach," he said. "I love his attitude. He's just a great guy."

When asked who hears from most, Bragg did not initially mention U of L, which made Bragg an offer several months ago, but after being asked specifically about the Cardinals, he said they remain heavily involved as well.

"They call every day, every single day," he said.

Bragg said he heard last week from a U of L coach – he wasn't sure which one because "there are so many coaches call a day" – who reminded him he remains a priority of the Cards. He said U of L is recruiting for both forward positions, just as most schools are.

"They said basically to keep working hard, and they are going to keep coming at me harder," he said.

Bragg is friends with U of L sophomore point guard Terry Rozier, who is also from the Cleveland area, and said Rozier is trying to recruit him.

"I'd love to go there," Bragg said. "… It would be good to play with him."

Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.