(YourSportsEdge.com photo by Scott Brown)
University Heights Academy senior Dekeyvan “Kyky” Tandy ended a year of speculation on the recruiting trail and committed to Xavier Tuesday. Tandy made the announcement on his Twitter page.
Tandy is ranked 92nd in the nation by 24/7 Sports and the 12th ranked combo guard in the country. He narrowed his choices to Xavier and Ole Miss in recent weeks and held offers from several Power-5 teams including Auburn, Florida, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Western Kentucky was the only in-state school to offer the UHA senior.
Kentucky showed some interest last winter with Coach John Calipari attending UHA’s Second Region title win over Christian County. However, their interest waned after Tandy’s father made public comments that Kyky wouldn’t attend Kentucky to sit on the bench.
Tandy heads to a Xavier program that promoted assistant Travis Steele to head coach in March when Chris Mack took the Louisville job. Steele was an assistant coach under Mack for nine years, the last three as the associate coach.
Xavier is coming off a 29-6 season that saw the Musketeers finish with a school-record final ranking of No. 3 and the first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in school history. Xavier has advanced to the Sweet 16 five times in the past decade.
Tandy’s decision comes days after an official visit to Xavier. He is the fifth member of the 2019 Xavier recruiting class and second guard. Before Tandy’s commitment, Xavier’s recruiting class ranked 15th nationally and second in the Big East.
Tandy was an all-state selection after averaging 30.5 points a game and helping lead the Blazers to their first Sweet 16 appearance in a decade. The 6-2 guard shot 61-percent from the field and 47-percent from 3-point range. He scored 31 points at Rupp Arena in UHA’s opening round loss to Campbell County. The Blazers enter 2018-19 as the preseason favorites in both the Second Region and the Second Region All-A.
