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NBA Cats Shined Over the Weekend

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© Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Kentucky has more players than in any other school in the country, and many of them are performing at a high level. Over the weekend, three Wildcats put up career-high types of performances.

Let’s take a look!

De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk Combine for 87 Points

On Friday night, Kentucky fans got a chance to see what both former Kentucky basketball stars, De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk, could do on the court together as teammates again.

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The two were teammates during the 2016-2017 season as they helped led Kentucky to an Elite Eight appearance. This past summer, Monk was a free agent and made the decision to sign with the Sacramento Kings, one reason was due to the relationship and bond he built with Fox in their one season at Kentucky.

This season the Kings have had a slight emergence. With a 34-25 record, the Kings have the third-best record in the Western Conference and are looking for their first playoff appearance since 2006.

On Saturday, the Kings picked up a big win against the Los Angeles Clippers in large part to Fox and Monk who combined to score 87 points in a double-overtime win. With a final score of 176-175, the game finished as the second-highest-scoring game in NBA History.

Without much defense, Fox neared a career-high as he scored 42 points and he was three points away, meanwhile, Monk set a new career-high at 45 points. The most impressive part is that Monk scored 30 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods, including a game-tying three to send it to overtime, which was set up by none other than Fox.

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Julius Randle Ties Career High

Julius Randle has taken his game to levels that some fans never expected. An all-star this season, the lucky lefty picked up right where he left off before the NBA All-Star Break. In his first game back, Randle and the Knicks traveled to Washington to play a playoff-caliber Wizards team, who are fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament.

Playing 36 minutes on Friday night, Randle tied his career high of 46 points, 16-29 from the field, 7-14 from 3-point range, with two rebounds and two assists in the 115-109 Knicks win.

The Knicks, led by Randle, are sitting at 34-27 in the Eastern Conference, securing a 6 seed if the playoffs started today.

If the Knicks with Randle, and the supporting cast that includes high-level guards like Jalen Brunson, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett amongst others, continue to play how they’ve been playing so far this year, New York could make a deep playoff run come April.

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Men's Basketball

Otega Oweh Declares for NBA Draft, Maintains College Eligibility

Arguably the centerpiece of last year’s team, Otega Oweh has declared for the NBA Draft… but that doesn’t mean he’s officially gone.

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Otega Oweh declares for the NBA Draft whilst maintaining his college eligibility.
Chet White | UK Athletics

Few players have taken the Big Blue Nation by storm like Otega Oweh did with his arrival this past season. A lot was new in Lexington last year, but #00 stuck out for a number of reasons; namely, his infectious energy on the court and the high odds that he was going to put an opponent on a poster on any given night.

Now, Oweh has declared for the NBA Draft. He made the announcement on social media, calling Kentucky fans the “best fans in the world.”

While this may seem dire for folks keeping tabs on next year’s roster, that last line in Oweh’s announcement is crucial: “…while maintaining my NCAA eligibility.” Essentially, Otega’s time in Lexington is far from over, at least for the time being.

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Whether or not “Tegatron” returns to Rupp will likely depend on what he hears during the draft process, and where exactly he wants to land. In the modern college basketball landscape, it’s become common practice for players to “test the waters” in the draft, just to get an idea as to where they stand with the league, before returning to college for another year of development.

Take, for example, Jaxson Robinson just last season. Before his eventual transfer to Kentucky, Robinson declared for the draft out of BYU, maintaining his eligibility, before pulling from the process in order to spend his senior year at Kentucky. It happens all the time.

While that doesn’t necessarily set Oweh’s return in stone, it at least gives the Big Blue Nation to take a breather and keep calm, as his departure is far from official. Either way, #00 is a Lexington legend whose first go-around in Kentucky blue was as memorable as anyone’s could be. The “Oweh, Oweh, Oweh” chants will go on regardless.

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Men's Basketball

Four Star Forward Visiting Kentucky Amidst Recruitment Rumors

Mark Pope is looking to close out a strong sophomore effort in the transfer portal, and this freshman guard may be the final piece.

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Four star guard Braydon Hawthorne is on a visit to Kentucky.
Braydon Hawthorne | WVU Athletics

As the transfer portal trucks on (and the NCAA races to find ways to regulate it), Mark Pope is looking to tie a bow on his already highly-ranked 2025-26′ roster. The latest potential addition becomes in the form of a freshman who, after pulling his commitment from West Virginia, will be on an official visit to Kentucky today, Wednesday, April 16.

Braydon Hawthorne, the 6’8″ forward at hand, is a lengthy, scoring wing with high upside on the offensive end. His 7’3″ wingspan opens opportunities for development on the defensive end, too – he’s an investment opportunity of the highest order. On3 currently has him at 48th on their ranking of 2025 recruits.

In addition to Kentucky and West Virginia (where Hawthorne is from), schools such as Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Marquette, Dayton, Old Dominion, Mount St. Mary’s, and more have thrown their hats into the ring, although the general consensus seems to be that Kentucky has the strongest pull/interest in the prospect for the time being.

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Whether or not that actually means he’ll be in blue and white is unfortunately unsure – as that’s how the transfer portal operates – but an in-person visit is a good indicator of mutual interest. Plus, with Kentucky “losing out” on Lamar Wilkerson, who committed to Indiana, a scoring spot in the back court remains open… and Hawthorne is a compelling candidate to fill it.

While Wildcats fans wait patiently for a potential commitment, all eyes are on Coach Cody Fueger’s X account for a trademark “boom” post.

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Men's Basketball

Brandon Garrison Announces Return To Kentucky For The 2025-26 Season

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Chet White | UK Athletics

Brandon Garrison isn’t going anywhere. 

The 6-foot-10 forward will be returning to the Kentucky Wildcats for his junior season in the 2025-26 campaign. 

Garrison took to social media first, posting a story on his personal Instagram that showed a simple graphic reading the words “I’m back.”

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Speculation and rumors have swirled around the Oklahoma native all offseason, and with the addition of Andrija Jelavic, Big Blue Nation worried that Garrison would be hitting the portal sooner than later. 

Now, with his returning announcement public, Garrison will look to assert himself in the offseason as a dominant force that deserves the starting role.

Last season, he backed up Amari Williams, coming off of the bench and averaging 5.9 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game in just 17.3 minutes a night. 

It’s unclear if he’s guaranteed anything in regards to a starting spot. However, having played a year already in Mark Pope’s system, Garrison may get a nod for the role over one of the transfer pickups. 

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Pope and the coaching staff have been publicly confident in the development of “BG” and see him as a vocal leader on and off the court. 

With a full offseason ahead where he’ll be harnessing his skill set and bettering his game in any way possible, Kentucky fans will be glad that Garrison chose to stick around another year. 

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