Antonio Blakeney finally tied up one of college basketball’s most fascinating recruitments by committing to LSU on Friday afternoon. Blakeney, a 6’4 shooting guard, chose the Tigers over Kentucky and Missouri. Blakeney is the No. 14 player and No. 2 shooting guard in the class of 2015, according to ESPN.
Antonio Blakeney commits to LSU over Kentucky, giving the Tigers a potentially loaded roster next season
Blakeney is joining his summer running mate Ben Simmons in Baton Rouge.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The story of Blakeney’s recruitment took on a life of its own when he de-committed from Louisville 10 days after making a verbal pledge. While the player never shed light on his decision to walk away from the Cardinals, most believe it was a power struggle between shoe companies. Louisville is an adidas school, and Blakeney played for a grassroots team on Nike’s EYBL circuit.
LSU is, of course, a Nike school. That's not Blakeney's only connection to the Tigers, though. He played on Each 1 Team 1 this summer with Ben Simmons, the consensus No. 1 recruit in the country who is also headed to LSU. Simmons had been recruiting Blakeney since this summer. If the Tigers are able to return current sophomore big men Jordan Mickey and Jarell Martin, LSU might have its most talented team since reaching the Final Four in 2006.
For more on the impact on Blakeney’s recruitment, check out earlier stories here and here. Check out his latest mixtape here:
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