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Are Jaden Mcdaniels and RJ Hampton Dropping Hints on Social Media?

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Jaden McDaniels and RJ Hampton are the two highest ranked recruits of the 2019 class yet to make their college decision, and both have Kentucky as one of their finalists.

Social media has become an emerging tool for recruits to use to get exposure, recruit other recruits to team up, and speak to current and former players. Now, while it is important not to over analyze things, recruits often send subtle hints with their social media activity. Let’s take a closer look at McDaniels’ and Hampton’s activity.

Jaden McDaniels

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Jaden McDaniels and his camp have been very quiet during the recruiting process. Many believed due to the quietness, McDanels preferred to stay close to home and would attend Washington. However, many believe that is now a two horse race between Kentucky and Washington, with the Wildcats now being the favorite.

Sources have reported that McDaniels hopes to make a decision in the next two weeks, and more Kentucky talk has emerged including the Wildcats taking over McDaniels 24/7 Crystal Ball prediction with 85%, including a pick from recruiting guru, Evan Daniels.

In the past week, McDaniels has followed other Kentucky commits Dontaie Allen and Khalil Whitney, and already follows Tyrese Maxey,

McDaniels also follows the official Kentucky men’s basketball account and notable Kentucky alumni John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Tyler Ulis, De’Aron Fox, Bam Adebayo, and Malik Monk amongst many others.

As for Washington, McDaniels follows very few Washington related accounts including alumnus Isaiah Thomas, transfer and former Wildcat Quade Green, and current players Nahziah Carter and Noah Neubauer.

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RJ Hampton

RJ Hampton was originally a part of the 2020 recruiting class, but after reclassifying in late April, Hampton has become a top-5 recruit in this year’s upcoming class.

Hampton’s final list consists of Kentucky, Kansas, Memphis, and Texas Tech. Many believe that Kentucky had the best shot to land Hampton if he had stayed in the 2020 class due to Kentucky’s loaded frontcourt next season. However, Kentucky is still in the mix, and Hampton’s final decision will likely come down to Kentucky, Kansas, and Memphis.

Hampton notably replied to Barstool Kansas on Twitter this past weekend.

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Also, Hampton has liked several comments from several incoming, current, and former players from Kentucky (Jarred Vanderbilt & Johnny Juzang), Kansas (Devon Dotson), and Memphis (James Wiseman & Lester Quinones).

Hampton’s brother Ry, only follows one player with any connections to RJ’s final list, Kentucky commit Tyrese Maxey.

Like I previously said, it is important not to put too much stock in things regarding social media, however, it does give us a closer insight and confirms what many already believe; that Kentucky is the favorite for Jaden McDaniels and it’s a three horse race for RJ Hampton.

BB Recruiting

Top 20 Prospect Taylen Kinney Set To Visit Kentucky

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James Weber | The Enquirer

Taylen Kinney, one of the top guards in the 2026 class and the No. 1 point guard in Kentucky, will take an official visit with the Wildcats beginning on June 24.

The Newport, Kentucky native has been inserted in a bit of a bidding war with Louisville and other premier schools after his official visit with the Cardinals, but of course the true recruiting powerhouse had to cast a line in hope of a bite.

KSR’s Jack Pilgrim caught a video of Kinney working with Mark Pope one-on-one on the morning of June 17 at the USA U19 Training Camp in Colorado Springs.

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A picture of Kinney, along with Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson, two of Kentucky’s incoming freshman on this year’s squad, came out of the camp. Tyran Stokes, the No. 1 player in the class of 2026, who already took a visit to Kentucky recently, was also shown in the picture. All four players are Kentucky natives.

Kinney is a priority for Kentucky, and Pope planting the idea of being a Wildcat in his mind this past weekend certainly builds the hype of his commitment being a future reality.

However, we can’t act like Pat Kelsey hasn’t already beat Pope to the punch, and it may be too late to change Kinney’s mind on being a Cardinal.

“I probably talk to coach Kelsey twice a week,” Kinney said. “He talks to my parents multiple times a week. I talk to the whole staff all of the time.”

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He later added on some words that no Wildcat fan would want to hear.

“They (Louisville’s staff) just told me that I was their guy,” Kinney said. “I fit perfectly into their system, and there’s no other school that I fit better into than them.

A common member of Big Blue Nation would likely think “yeah alright, wait until you get that Kentucky treatment,” and with the climate of today’s recruiting trail, who knows what can happen.

It will likely be a long time before the star guard makes an official decision, but who doesn’t like a good back-and-forth between two rival programs. The bell has already rung, and round one goes to the Cardinals, but the Wildcats are coming out swinging for round two.

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No. 1 Ranked Recruit Takes Official Visit to Kentucky

The top-ranked recruit in the nation, Tyran Stokes, took his official visit to Kentucky following a prior delay.

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Tyran Stokes takes his official visit to Kentucky.
Mark J. Rebilas | Imagn Images

Being from Louisville doesn’t necessarily make you a cardinal, and Mark Pope has set out to prove that in the biggest possible way.

The top-ranked overall recruit in next year’s class, Tyran Stokes, officially took a visit to Lexington on Sunday, June 8. This comes in lieu of many rumors that he’d canceled his visit altogether due to frustration with fans trying to dig for information online.

Last month in a cryptic post on X, Stokes said, “Why can’t y’all give a kid some privacy”. As curious as that was, especially given the proximity to his originally planned visit to Kentucky, it seems that the true issue had no bearing on his choice to hear Coach Pope’s plea. 

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And, as Kentucky fans now know, sometimes that’s all it takes to get a guy in blue and white.

The Louisville native, at 6’7, 230, has become widely renowned for his strong slashing ability as a multi-threat scorer on the wing. Stokes is the sort of player that, nobody who you already have on your team, you make room for him. He’s got an intangible build made for the big leagues, and he’s not even out of high school yet.

Stokes is the kind of guy that’d have NBA scouts sitting court side in Rupp Arena. While that level of national buzz isn’t always a good thing, it’s hard to underscore the possibility, and excitement, of the top recruit in the nation committing to the Cats come 2026.

In the very least, Kentucky is in the race, alongside Kansas and Louisville as heavy pursuers. It’s never too early to look ahead, and, as usual, Pope and staff are doing just that with the biggest names in the game.

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Kentucky Earns Commitment From European Big Andrija Jelavic

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ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic

Earlier today, Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats received the commitment from Andrija Jelavic, a 6-foot-11 big from Croatia.

As first reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Jelavic is one of the most highly regarded European prospects that is taking his talent to the NCAA.

Soon to be 21 years old, Jelavic averaged 10.8 points per game on 60% shooting from the field to go along with 7.4 rebounds per game for Mega Superbet, the same club that NBA Champion and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic played for.

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As a shock to most, who were expecting Pope’s next commit to be a guard of some sorts, international players can now sign lucrative NIL deals. Kentucky, along with several of the elite colleges, are now in the European market. 

Jelavic, with shades of current European big men, can do just about everything on the court. He can shoot, dribble, pass, finish at the rim, etc. With a very relevant comparison, Jelavic plays almost perfectly in the replacement role of Andrew Carr. 

His commitment now makes him the fifth member of Pope’s additions this offseason, joining Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe, Mouhamed Dioubate and Jayden Quaintance. 

With a 7’2” wingspan, joining an already impressive Kentucky frontcourt, it’s safe to say for certain that this new team will not lack in that department. 

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Next year’s roster was loaded with talent already, but now with the addition of Jelavic, lots of questions are arising: Who will start? How many more players is Pope going to add? What will happen with the walk-ons? 

There’s plenty to think about for Pope and his staff before the season starts, but like he said back when he introduced himself to Big Blue Nation, “We’re here to win banners.” He’s going to make the moves he thinks will do just that for the Wildcats. 

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