With Oscar Tshiewbwe announcing his return and Shaedon Sharpe announcing that he has declared for the NBA draft (with a minuscule chance of a return if ruled ineligible), two of Kentucky’s biggest offseason questions have now been answered.
This is in addition to the return of Damion Collins, CJ Frederick, and Sahvir Wheeler; and the expected return of Lance Ware and Jacob Toppin. There is one other player that could still return, Keion Brooks, who has entered his name in the NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility.
This is good news for John Calipari and the staff, as they are now able to better identify their weaknesses in the roster and concentrate their efforts.
So who are they looking at? Let’s take a look at some that Kentucky is actively recruiting and some possibilities.
Antonio Reeves
Antonio Reeves is a 6-foot-6, 185-pound transfer from Illinois State. The All-Missouri Valley Conference selection is one of the best players in the portal and will transfer as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining.
Simply put, Reeves is a scoring specialist. Averaging 20.1 points per game, he is the leading scorer of those in the transfer portal and was top 20 in the NCAA last season. Reeves also scores efficiently, shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3-point range, and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Reeves is originally from Chicago and has ties with UK assistant Chin Coleman, with Coleman being the former director of Mac Irvin Fire, Reeves’ former AAU program.
Reeves came to Kentucky for a visit last weekend, with all reports saying it went well. This is most likely Kentucky’s next commitment, with them already picking up two crystal ball predictions from Travis Branham and Chris Fisher, and reports of a commitment on the horizon.
Leonard Miller
In recent months, Leonard Miller has seen his stock skyrocket, going from relatively unknown to now arguably the best remaining prospect in the 2022 class.
Currently ranked 11th in the On3 recruiting rankings, Miller has benefitted from a six-inch growth spurt. The lanky forward from Canada now stands 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, displaying an impressive shooting touch and guard skills for his size.
This past season, Miller averaged 32 points per game and shot over 40% from three, initiating 90% of his team’s offense, according to Jamie Shaw of On3.
In an interview with Travis Graf of Rivals, Miller seems to like what Kentucky has to offer.
“That’s been a dream school of mine since I’ve been growing up. I like the culture that they have and what they bring to the table. They have a record of producing and having good results with their guys. Just the whole gig in general, I like it.”
On Saturday, Miller declared for the draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Turning 18 in 2021, Miller is eligible as an international prospect. With Miller’s potential, current draft projections have him pegged to be a late first-round to second-round selection.
Miller had previously listed a final three of Arizona, Kentucky, and the G-League, which would be the trio options if he were not to remain in the draft.
He will have until June 1st at 11:59 PM ET to make a final decision.
Adou Thiero
Similar to Miller, Thiero has seeming come out of nowhere and has benefitted from a big growth spurt, growing 6 inches to 6’5 (6’6 depending on who you ask) in just the past year and is not finished.
Combine that height with athleticism, and that is a combo that John Calipari seems to like.
Thiero is a combo guard in the 2022 class that plays a very downhill game, as he likes to drive and be as physical as possible. Thiero has decent shot mechanics, but has been playing through a broken growth plate as of recent. Has also shown great shot-blocking abilities for a guard.
With that said, Thiero is not your typical five-star Calipari recruit, but could given his tools, could be a good developmental piece.
Adou has great genes. His father, Almamy Thiero, played for Calipari in his early days at Memphis and his mother is 6-3 and is a former WNBA draft pick.
No leaders have been talked about, but Kentucky is amongst a group of Maryland, Pitt, Duquesne, and Cincinnati to offer the Pennsylvania native. Thiero is planning to visit Kentucky towards the end of April.
Antonie Davis
A former teammate of Brad Calipari, Antoine Davis was one of the best offensive players in the country last season at Detroit Mercy and has decided to transfer.
Davis has cited NIL opportunities as the primary reason to transfer, and there are not many places that could provide the number of NIL opportunities that Kentucky can.
The 6-foot-1 guard has played four seasons at Detriot, averaging 23+ points in each of them. After four years, Davis sits 22nd in NCAA history in scoring, 2,734 points. In comparison, that is nearly 600 more points than Dan Issel’s school leading 2,138 points at Kentucky.
With that said, it should be a given that Davis has a high usage percentage, ranking 5th in the NCAA since 2009-10 at 35.65%.
While Davis is an elite scorer and Kentucky has reached out, I am not sure a high-usage player will fit in well, nor do I believe Davis would take a step back and split minutes with Sahvir Wheeler/
Terrence Shannon Jr.
Looking at the transfer portal, Terrence Shannon Jr., a 6-foot-6 and 215-pound wing, is one of the best two-way threats available. This past season, Shannon averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 38.4% from three, while being a key piece of a Texas Tech defense that was the best in the country.
Since announcing that he would transfer, Kentucky has been seen as a likely landing spot due to prior connections.
Shannon, another Chicago native that Kentucky has targeted, played for Chicago-based AAU program Mac-Irvin Fire, which UK assistant Chin Coleman previously served as the head coach and director for. In addition to fellow assistant Orlando Antigua, the pair recruited Shannon while they were at Illinois.
Despite that, Michigan is said to be the leader for Shannon as long as they can work out his enrollment and get his college credits transferred.
Emoni Bates
As a top high school recruit, Bates at one time was tabbed as “the next Kevin Durant”. but after just one season at Memphis, that was far from the case.
Last year, Bates made the decision to reclassify and join fellow top-5 recruit, Jalen Duren, at Memphis. Loaded with talent on paper, the Tigers were highly ranked in the preseason and was talked to be a Final Four contender.
While the Tigers did make the NCAA Tournament, nearly beating the No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga Bulldogs, much of the season was a struggle, and such is also so for Bates.
The 6-foot-9 forward played in just 18 of Memphis’s 33 games, averaging just 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds on 44.2% shooting from the field and 32.9% from three.
In the 18 games that Bates appeared, the Tigers held an underwhelming 10-8 record, compared to a 13-2 record without him.
With all this said, Bates was supposed to be a high school senior last year, which played a part in his struggles as he did not look prepared for college basketball.
Despite the issues, Bates oozes talent and could be a potential replacement for Sharpe. It all comes down to if can he put it together along with improving on some off-the-court issues.
However, Kentucky has not reached out to Bates and it doesn’t seem to be a real possibility, with The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker tweeting, “Emoni Bates to Kentucky is not a thing, for anyone who needed to hear it.”
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