Dereck Lively, the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2022 class, has made a surprise announcement that he will make his college decision on Monday, September 20th at 6:00 PM ET. The seven-footer is down to seven programs: Duke, North Carolina, Penn State, Michigan, Florida State, and USC but Kentucky and Duke have been the leaders throughout his recruitment.
Lively’s commitment had gone very quiet in the weeks and months leading up to today with no perceived movement, which makes today’s announcement come as a surprise. Gauging a leader for Lively has been no easy task with Kentucky and Duke seemingly fluctuating throughout the course of his recruitment.
As we head down the final stretch, it is still tough to peg who will win out in this battle for Lively but come Monday night we will have an answer. Lively was ranked the No. 1 prospect after the reclassifications of Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren but upon 247Sports’ latest update, he now ranks as the No. 2 overall prospect in the class.
While Kentucky commit Shaedon Sharpe currently sits atop the class, Lively is very much in the conversation for the top prospect in 2022. Whoever lands Lively is getting an elite big man who impacts the game as a great rim protector, lob-catcher, rim-runner and switchable post who can also make shots from three and score on the block.
