Noel, Nation's Top Center, Commits to Kentucky Cheryl Senter for The New York Times Nerlens Noel, out of the Tilton School in New Hampshire, said Wednesday that he would play for Kentucky Coach John Calipari. When the Kentucky freshman star Anthony Davis threw the ball in the air in celebration at the Final Four, the scene could well be remembered as more than a seminal moment in Wildcats basketball history. Davis's success in leading Kentucky to the national title and winning the national player of the year showed how short the line can be from top prospect to national champion. On Wednesday night, the country's top-ranked high school player, Nerlens Noel, chose to follow Davis in flamboyant fashion. Noel, Scout.com's No. 1 recruit, picked the Wildcats by shaving a U.K. logo in the back of his head. Noel will highlight Kentucky's latest top-rated recruiting class, which will attempt to do what Davis and his fellow freshmen Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague did this season: lead their team to a national title immediately. The notion that a freshman-laden team can win a national championship has, in part, changed the perception of top recruits and erased the notion that a young team cannot win the national title. "Now it's proven," said Evan Daniels, the national basketball recruiting analyst for Scout.com. Before, one prominent freshman helped a team to a title; this year, we saw a whole team of freshmen do it. The game has changed. So has the way elite recruits announce their decisions. Both Noel, who also considered Syracuse, North Carolina, Georgetown and Connecticut, and the 6-foot-5 shooting guard Shabazz Muhammad told a national audience of their intentions on live television (ESPNU). Muhammad picked U.C.L.A. Noel could be the latest in the line of so-called one-and-done players under Coach John Calipari, joining Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall, Davis and numerous others who have thrived under Calipari for one season and gone off to N.B.A. riches. Noel is an elite shot blocker but may struggle with comparisons to Davis, as his offensive game and body are not as developed as Davis's. Noel's coach, Marcus O'Neil of the Tilton School, a New Hampshire prep school, compared him defensively to a "nuclear weapon" but cautioned about comparisons to Davis. "It's not fair," O'Neil said of the comparisons. They had Anthony Davis and they won a national championship with three other guys, at least, who are going to work out at the N.B.A. level. What if they don't have the same amount of talent around him and don't win? Because Noel decided a few months ago to graduate a year early, he has work to do to qualify academically. One of his mentors, Errol Randolph, said in a recent interview that Noel needed to take an additional English course this summer. Noel will also need to meet all of Tilton's graduation requirements. Noel has traveled to recent all-star basketball events in New Orleans, Oregon and North Carolina, missing large amounts of school time. While the addition of Muhammad out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas bolsters a struggling U.C.L.A. team, it will also ratchet up the scrutiny of the program off the floor. CBSSports.com reported that the N.C.A.A. was looking into the Muhammad family's dealings with two financial advisers, which could affect his eligibility. The extent of the N.C.A.A."s interest is unclear, but CBSSports.com said that the N.C.A.A. contacted the programs recruiting Muhammad and said there were potential amateurism issues. Noel has also had issues surrounding his recruitment, including Tilton's barring one of his key advisers, the former Providence assistant Chris Driscoll, from campus. Driscoll accompanied Noel in North Carolina for his decision. But for one night, the decisions of a pair of high school seniors brightened the immediate futures of Kentucky and U.C.L.A.