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BB Recruiting

Five-Star Wing Billy Richmond Commits To Kentucky

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Five-star guard Billy Richmond commits to play basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.
UK Athletics

The class keeps getting better and better for John Calipari and Kentucky as five-star SG from the class of 2024, Billy Richmond has announced his commitment to Kentucky.

Richmond chose Kentucky over Memphis, Alabama, and LSU but also held other offers from Kansas, Texas, UConn, Michigan, and several others. As for why he chose Kentucky, “Great coaching staff and Calipari always keeps it real with me.”

Richmond is a 6-foot-6 Small Forward from Camden, New Jersey, and is ranked as the No. 23 overall player and No. 5 SG, according to 247Sports. The list continues as many players who play in Camden have gone on to pick Kentucky including: Lance Ware, DJ Wagner, and Aaron Bradshaw who all have recently chosen the ‘Cats.

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Richmond didn’t choose Kentucky just because of the connection Camden has but his father also played under Calipari while he was at Memphis and with the recent family connections more recruits are choosing Kentucky such as Adou Thiero, Wagner, and now Richmond who all had fathers who played under Calipari while at Memphis.

With Richmond being more than likely the last recruit to commit during the early National Signing Day Period, Calipari already has a big class in Jayden Quaintance, Travis Perry, and Boogie Fland who committed earlier this fall, and Somto Cyril who committed earlier this Summer.

There are some other recruits Calipari will look to sign in the Spring such as Karter Knox and potentially another player who could reclassify from 2025 to 2024, but overall this year’s class has been another masterclass by Calipari and his staff while at Kentucky.

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BB Recruiting

Mark Pope Recruited Five-Star Recruit Nate Ament During His Tennessee Visit

Mark Pope made sure to get a word in with Nate Ament following Kentucky’s impressive road win against Tennessee.

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Nate Ament, a five-star prospect ranked fourth (ESPN 100) in the 2025 class, made an official visit to potential suitor Tennessee last Tuesday, Jan. 27. Unfortunately for them, Mark Pope and his Kentucky Wildcats were in town.

The ‘Cats put on a show in front of the highly-touted recruit, spoiling the Volunteer’s homecoming and making a statement to a player who has yet to make an official commitment.

Not only that, but Kentucky is still in the mix. Ament recently cut down his list of schools to a final bunch: BYU, Duke, Louisville, Tennessee, Alabama, and the Big Blue, among others.

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While Duke currently holds the next visit and opportunity to sway Ament in their direction, Coach Pope made sure he got a word in after the win against Tennessee.

“Let’s go Nate”

According to KSR’s Jacob Polacheck, Pope reportedly passed Ament as he left the handshake line, saying “Let’s go Nate,” and C’mon, Nate.” There are few ways more effective to prove yourself and your system to a player than to win in convincing fashion right in front of them.

Without a doubt, Pope earned himself and the program a few brownie points with that one.

If Kentucky were to land Ament, he’d fit right into the ranks of recruits that Pope has landed so far. Then again, a 6’9 forward averaging nearly 20 points per game in high school could likely find a spot just about anywhere.

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According to Ament, two of the most important aspects of his decision are “player development” and “the family aspect of the team.”

“Wherever I go I want to make sure I’m taken care of and have the best relationships. I also want to be challenged to get better and play for a coach that lets me play through my mistakes,” he said.

If Mark Pope is known for anything, it’s his personable approach to coaching and his constant insistence on study and improvement. For Ament, it seems like Kentucky is a good fit and he will be taking a visit to Lexington in February.

Can Mark Pope get his first top-five recruit?

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Top Recruit Cancels Visit to John Calipari and Arkansas, Kentucky the Perceived Leader

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Chet White | UK Athletics, Nelson Chenault | Imagn

Recruiting. That was Mark Pope’s biggest criticism at BYU and in just six months he has calmed most of those worries. In addition to recruiting thirteen guys in a little over a month for his first team, he has signed three top 30 prospects for the 2025 class, including two five stars, as Kentucky sits third overall in the recruiting rankings.

Now, it looks like Pope is nearing his first top-10 prospect, besting John Calipari and Arkansas.

Caleb Wilson, a 6-9, 205-pound wing from Atlanta, cancelled his visit to Arkansas for the second time on Thursday and is not expected to reschedule. In a recent interview with Jack Pilgrim, Wilson had less-than-ideal things to say about the Razorbacks.

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“I really have never considered or thought about Arkansas before Coach Cal went there,” Wilson said. “I’m not really in tune with the school. I never thought I would be interested in Arkansas. I never knew anything about them. I never knew they were in the SEC until like a year ago.”

Meanwhile, Wilson was in attendance for Kentucky’s win over Duke on Tuesday.

The recruitment for Wilson has been interesting. Wilson was heavily considering Kentucky when Calipari was still the head coach, attending the 2023 Big Blue Madness, and many thought that would carry over with his move to Arkansas. Towards the end of the grassroots circuit, it was clear that wasn’t the case.

That is when Kentucky started making a strong push for Wilson, with the primary competition being North Carolina. When Wilson visited Lexington in September it vaulted them to the top of the list and they have continued to carry that momentum in the weeks since. A NIL offer upwards of $2 million doesn’t hurt either.

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A final list for Wilson is expected to be released soon, with a decision coming by mid-January. You should really like Kentucky’s chances, and what a statement it would be to get a commit over Calipari and another over North Carolina (Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson).

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BREAKING: Four-Star PG Acaden Lewis Commits to Kentucky over Duke and UConn, “You Can’t Beat What They Are Doing”

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2025 four-star point guard prospect Acaden Lewis has announced his commitment to Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats.
UK Athletics

It’s a good start to the weekend as Kentucky basketball has picked up a commitment. 2025 four-star point guard Acaden Lewis from Washington, D.C., announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, picking the Wildcats over Duke and Connecticut.

Funny enough, during an unofficial visit in Lexington back in June, Mark Pope joked with fans that Lewis was committing to Kentucky. While Lewis didn’t commit that day, Pope was able to seal the deal a few months later.

Why Kentucky?

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“It felt like a community. Pope, he was in the hood with me. He came to my barber shop and everything. It felt like a home. Felt like somewhere I should be. The system is great.”

Lewis joins five-star commits Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson in Kentucky’s class, and helps bolster the Wildcats’ class ranking up to second, only behind Duke. Both players recruited Lewis to join them, with Moreno joining him for part of his official visit to Kentucky back in October, including being featured in his photoshoot. Shortly after the visit, Lewis said in an interview about Kentucky, “You can’t beat what they were doing.”

While Moreno and Johnson were big recruiting victories, they were both players from Kentucky. This is Pope’s commitment from outside of the state, and he went up against the bluest of blue bloods in Duke, UConn, and North Carolina.

Now, can Lewis help Kentucky close the deal on consensus top 10 wing Caleb Wilson? The two have expressed a lot of interest in playing together, and Wilson is aiming to make a decision by December, with Kentucky as one of the two leaders.

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Scouting Report

Lewis is a lefty lead guard who is extremely talented with the ball. He has soft hands and natural touch that are the foundation of a very advanced skill set. His handle is tight, he’s a lay-up maker with both hands, and he has soft floaters and tough pull-ups alike in the mid-range area. While Lewis connected on just 31% of his threes during EYBL play, he’s a much better shooter than those numbers indicate. He made 83% of his free throws, attempted nearly 7 threes per game, and projects as someone who not only has gravity spotting up but can be a movement shooter as well.

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