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Mark Pope Lands First Kentucky Commit, Four-Star Collin Chandler

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2022 4-star recruit, Collin Chandler

And the first domino falls! Collin Chandler, bright and early Tuesday morning, announces his commitment to UK.

Chandler is a former BYU commit, recently released from his BYU commitment, and now Chandler will join Coach Pope at UK, according to Travis Branham. Not only is this Coach Pope’s first commitment in his tenure at UK, it’s also a major one. Chandler is a projected NBA player, and the highest-rated recruit to ever commit to BYU.

Collin Chandler, 2022 4-star combo guard

Chandler is a 4-star recruit from the 2022 class, a 6’4 do-it-all guard. 247Sports had Chandler rated as the #33 player in the nation, and the #6 player at his position in the 2022 class. Chandler has spent the last 2 years – since HS graduation – on his mission for The Church of Latter-day Saints.

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Want reason for excitement? Chandler was the #6 rated combo guard in the 2022 class. The 5 players ranked higher: Nick Smith (1st round draft pick), Cason Wallace (lottery pick), Amari Bailey (NBA, 2nd round pick), JJ Starling (Syracuse, potential 1st round pick), and Jalen Hood-Schifino (#17 overall NBA selection). So of the 5 players ranked ahead of him, 4 are currently in the NBA and the 5th is on his way. So by these metrics, Chandler is a future NBA combo-guard that belongs in Pope’s system.

Just the first domino to fall…

Now that Chandler has made his commitment to Kentucky, expect other announcements to soon follow. Pope has “his guy”, and now he can assemble a full roster with that in mind. BBN should expect a couple of transfers from BYU to follow, and some Portal movement by the end of the week as well.

My take on this situation: BBN has been a little restless with how quiet it’s been on Pope’s recruiting. The Portal is full of talent, and rumors of players dying to play at UK have been circling. But yet, no announced commitments from anyone. Collin Chandler is the highest-ever recruit to commit to BYU in the program’s history. I think Pope wanted Chandler to be the first announcement, the first domino to fall. As far as recruiting, Chandler is Pope’s shiniest jewel, the highest touted recruit he ever landed at BYU. Pope, playing the “PR” game here, wanted Chandler to be the headline commitment of his era at Kentucky. And for me, personally I love it.

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BB Recruiting

Kentucky Receives First Transfer Commitment From Top 25 Prospect, “Not Many People Get Opportunities Like This”

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Kentucky transfer Kam Williams prepares to shoot.

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.”

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Kentucky Named a Finalist for Five Star, Top 5 NBA Prospect Nate Ament

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2025 top five prospect Nate Ament on his visit to Kentucky.
UK Athletics

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.

Be sure to read Shaw’s update here.

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Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

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Kentucky Hosting Top Five Recruit Nate Ament

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Top five prospect Nate Ament will be visiting Kentucky in Rupp Arena as they take on Tennessee.
USA Basketball

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.”

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