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2020 UK Target Considering Reclassification

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On Saturday, 2020 five-star recruit, RJ Hampton cut his choice of schools to four with this tweet.

In a blog post on USA Today, Hampton goes on to say, “I’m officially down to four; in no order I’m down to Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Memphis”. The 24/7 Sports crystal ball predictions have Duke pegged as the leader at 50% followed by Kansas at 25%, Memphis at 12%, and Kentucky at 12%.

Hampton, a 6-foot-4 170-pound, combo guard is considered a top 5 player in the 2020 class and is rumored to be considering a jump to this year’s class, which would make him eligible to play this upcoming season. In his blog post, Hampton confirmed the rumors saying, “I’m considering reclassifying to 2019 at this point”.

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If Hampton does choose to reclassify, his recruitment becomes much clearer. Yesterday, Duke guard Tre Jones announced he is returning for a sophomore season. This really hurts Duke chances as Hampton told insider Adam Zagoria, “if Tre leaves, that is something I would look into”. Kentucky will also have a lot of depth at the guard and wing positions next season. That leaves Kansas and Memphis, and with the FBI scandal surrounding the Jayhawks, playing in Memphis with James Wiseman and an all-NBA coaching staff is an appealing option.  

With that being said, Hampton went to say that he is fine with playing other roles at times and is attracted to the idea of playing with another elite point guard, like Kentucky commit Tyrese Maxey ?‍♂️

“A lot of people think I just want to run the point and that’s it, and I do want to do that too, but if the coach needs me to play off the ball sometimes and guard the two or the three at times, I’m fine with that too. I actually think playing with another elite point guard is a more attractive option because either one of us can bring it down and I can do what I do best and score the ball”

Hampton had some praise for the Cats as he went on to talk about the player-first mentality of John Calipari.

“What I like about Kentucky is that Coach (John) Calipari is really focused on putting players in position to be successful and reach their dreams and goals and that’s how he’s able to win”

I would love to see RJ Hampton in a Kentucky uniform, as he has the potential to be one of the best offensive players in the Calipari era.

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Scouting Report: Hampton is an offensive minded guard with good size. Hampton is a great shooter off the catch and dribble, and can keep defenders guessing with great handles and dribble-drive ability. Hampton tends to make the right basketball play with a natural instinct for the game. At 170 pounds, Hampton does have a thin frame that limits his rebounding and defensive ability. Hampton draws comparisons to former Wildcat, Jamal Murray.

(USA Today)

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BB Recruiting

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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Four-Star Guard Acaden Lewis Suddenly Decommits from Kentucky

Amidst a recent wave of positive recruiting news for Kentucky, the surprising decommitment of Acaden Lewis is an unfortunate wrench.

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2025 four-star point guard prospect Acaden Lewis has decommited from Kentucky.
UK Athletics

In a shocking, late at night turn of events, four-star freshman Acaden Lewis has decommitted from Kentucky.

Lewis, a 6’3” point guard out of Washington, D.C. first committed to the blue and white in November of last year, following an in-person visit with Mark Pope in his hometown.

Since then, he’s made multiple appearances in Rupp Arena, been featured in photo shoots with his fellow incoming recruits, and spoken on multiple occasions about his excitement to join the team for the 2025-26’ season.

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To say this development is surprising would be a serious understatement.

Lewis released a statement following the announcement, “This was an incredibly difficult decision, but I have to do what’s best for my future,” he said. “Thank you to Coach Pope and the whole Kentucky staff for all they’ve done for me so far.”

While the loss of Lewis is certainly disappointing, there is still much to look forward to next season for Kentucky, who maintain one of the highest rated transfer classes in the nation – and it likely isn’t finished.

To that point, if any reason can be derived immediately for Lewis’ decommitment, it may be found in the same place that Mark Pope and staff will be going to look for answers: the transfer portal.

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Top 10 Transfer Prospect, Former Wildcat Recruit Jayden Quaintance Commits to Kentucky

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2024 five-star big man Jayden Quaintance has commmitted to play basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats
UK Athletics

Two days into the week and two booms for the Kentucky Wildcats as Jayden Quaintance announced his commitment to Kentucky on Tuesday morning.

If the Quaintance name sounds familiar, it should. He was originally committed to play for the Cats out of high school last season as a five-star recruit. While he was interested in staying at Kentucky following John Calipari’s departure, even meeting with Mark Pope, he elected to play for Arizona State.

In his one season with the Sun Devils, Quaintance averaged 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 2.6 BPG, and earned Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Defensive honors.

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The one concern for Quaintance is that he had surgery to repair a torn ACL, which could keep him out for the entire offseason and potentially into the season. That said, the expectation for a return is September, and at just 17 years old, there is so much untapped potential.

Get to know the newest Wildcat commit!

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