While John Calipari does not like to show much interest until the summer of a recruit going from their junior to senior year, however, Tre Johnson is a top-five recruit in 2024 that Kentucky has expressed a lot of interest in.
Johnson has created a reputation as a pure shooting guard and an elite shooter, something that Kentucky will always welcome. With such a beautiful and fluid shooting form, it is easy to see why.
On the weekend, Johnson was one of the leading scorers of the Louisville Nike EYBL session, averaging 19.6 points on an efficient 48% shooting from the field and 47% shooting from three, while also averaging nearly 4 made threes per game.
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To add to that, Johnson is also comfortable utilizing his mid-range game. As for areas of improvement, Johnson does need to become a more confident ball handler and assist-maker, which will round out his all-around game.
Johnson has called Kentucky his “dream school”, and looks up to former UK guard, Tyrese Maxey, which puts Kentucky in the mix off principle this early on. Let’s recap what Johnson had to say about Kentucky and more in my interview with him.
You’ve said that Kentucky is one of the schools that you have been hearing a lot from lately. What have those communications been like?
“It’s been good just knowing that Kentucky is reaching out. They are saying that I am a player that can fit their style of play. It’s also good knowing that I can go to a place like Kentucky and be effective.”
How has the departure of Jai Lucas affected your recruitment? Who has taken over?
“No, but that is who I was mainly talking to. When he left, I started talking to another assistant coach, but I am not sure who it was, my dad didn’t tell me that.”
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You’ve called Kentucky your “dream school”, why is that and what makes it so attractive?
“That was my favorite school when I was younger. I always wanted to go to Kentucky when I was younger. Then, Tyrese Maxey, we are from the same place, and I just looked up to him and wanted to go where he went. Right now, I am open to anywhere.”
Are you close with Tyrese (Maxey)? Has he talked to you about Kentucky?
“We don’t talk a lot, but we talk on occasion. He hasn’t said anything, we try not to get into that.”
You have said that you would rather receive constructive criticism than to be praised for how good you are, so what are you working to improve on?
Improving on my team defense. Helping rebound, even when our big man is there or is not there.
What factors are you looking at to help you make a decision?
“A place where they give their guards freedom. Let their guards play and let them do what they do in practice. A place that plays winning basketball, a team that wants to win.”
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Does NIL play a large factor in your recruitment?
“No, not really. NIL is not the big picture. The big picture to me is to go to the NBA.”
Get up to speed with this breakdown on Kentucky’s latest target, Tre Johnson.
While all the attention is on Kentucky’s matchup with Tennessee in the Sweet Sixteen, the transfer portal officially opened on Monday and the staff has been hard at work.
Already tossing a wide net, reaching out to nearly a dozen guys in the past few days, the Cats have reeled in their first commitment from Top 25 ranked (247Sports), four-star transfer Kam Williams from Tulane.
With a 6-8, 190-pound frame, Williams has good size. What caught the staff’s eye is his ELITE shooting ability, shooting better than 41 percent this past season and that includes 17 threes made beyond 25 feet. He excels best in catch-and-shoot situations, where he ranks in the 94th percentile.
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Williams received interest from many schools in addition to Kentucky, such as Florida, Louisville, and St. John’s among others. Why did Williams commit to Kentucky so quickly?
“Not many people get opportunities like this, so I wanted to pull the trigger fast,” Williams told ESPN. “More people are waiting to fill that spot, so I had to take advantage.”
“My dream is to play in the NBA. Kentucky’s culture and background shows that they care about their players, especially developing them into the best players they can be.”
Mark Pope has received three top-35 commitments in his first high school recruiting class, including two high 4-star commits in Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno.
However, his first top-10 prospect still eludes him after missing out on Caleb Wilson last month… at least for now.
Over the last few weeks, Pope and his staff have focused heavily on top-five prospect Nate Ament.
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Ament, the second-ranked power forward in the 2025 class, cut his list down to five schools earlier this week: Duke, Louisville, Tennessee, Arkansas, and the Kentucky Wildcats.
The 6-foot-9 prospect has visited each of them except Arkansas over the last five months, with a decision expected in the next month or so. Where does each program stand?
According to Joe Tipton of On3, Louisville and Duke have “positioned themselves” the best in this recruitment, giving Pat Kesley and the Cardinals a slight lead. However, there is still time, and one thing that could shake things up the most is NIL, reported to be one of Ament’s biggest priorities.
Elsewhere at On3, Jamie Shaw did his own update, where he said this could be down to a Kentucky vs. Louisville battle.
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“Speaking with sources at this point in time it does sound like there is a split room around Nate Ament with Duke, Louisville, and Kentucky. With the intel I am currently getting, I would not be surprised to see this ultimately come down to a Kentucky and Louisville battle,” Shaw wrote, later adding that a decision could come in the next few weeks.
Ament is fresh off a visit to Kentucky, where he saw Rupp Arena at its best as the Wildcats completed the season sweep of Tennessee. That being his most recent visit, along with Pope visiting for Ament’s Senior night, the hope is it made a lasting impact, but will it be enough?
Time will tell, but the Cats are a legitimate contender to land Ament.
After missing out on Caleb Wilson, Kentucky has shifted focus to its last remaining prospect, Nate Ament. The 6-foot-9 small forward prospect out of Warrenton, Virginia, is now the Wildcats’ last remaining prospect in the high school ranks for the 2025 class.
Ament has set up a visit to Kentucky, which was first reported by On3’s Joe Tipton. He will be in attendance when Tennessee travels to Rupp Arena on February 11th, with both the Wildcats and the Volunteers in the mix within the recruitment.
It is important to note that Kentucky is behind in this recruitment as they prioritized Caleb Wilson over Ament which did not pay off in the end. Ament has already visited Duke, Tennessee, Louisville, Texas, and Notre Dame. He is currently down to 11 schools including the Cats.
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Duke has been considered the longtime favorite in the recruitment but Mark Pope and company will have the chance to sell themselves before Ament decides to commit to another school.
Mark Pope even recruited Ament during his visit to Tennessee, where Kentucky pulled the upset on the road. As the team was celebrating coming off the floor, Pope passed Ament saying “Let’s go, Nate,” and “C’mon, Nate.”