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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 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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