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DJ Wagner Receives Louisville Crystal Ball Prediction

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UK Athletics

Over the past several seasons, Kentucky has been put in bad situations with No. 1 recruits.

Skal Labiessiere never played to his ranking. James Wiseman, once a Kentucky lock was pulled to Memphis as they hired his high school coach Penny Hardaway. Cade Cunningham, silently committed to Kentucky on an official visit before Oklahoma hired his brother. Now, potentially Shaedon Sharpe may never play in a Kentucky uniform after one semester.

It appears that Kentucky may be put in another with DJ Wagner, the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2023 class.

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On Friday, Travis Branham of 24/7 Sports made a prediction for the Louisville Cardinals to land Wagner, with a “medium” confidence level.

Of the three predictions, Kentucky still leads with two, but it shows that Wagner is no longer the guarantee for Kentucky as once thought.

Why is this?

Since Kenny Payne was hired at Louisville, rumors have been circulating that he would being bringing in his former teammate and DJ’s grandfather Milt Wagner to his staff. That’s not to mention his other teammate, Pervis Ellison, who is DJ’s grassroots coach.

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Despite the worry that may cause, Calipari and Kentucky have their own connections, DJ’s father Dajuan, and stepbrother, UK walk-on Kareem Watkins, who DJ has called his “best friend” and “blood brother”.

Dajuan played for Calipari at Memphis and pushed him to leave after one season, being drafted sixth before his career was derailed by injuries. This left Dajuan, and even Milt, with a lasting impression of Calipari, as he pushed him to do what was best for himself and his family.

A few months back, Milt Wagner did tell The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker, “I don’t tell my kids where to go, I let them figure it out. Of course, I’d like them to follow in my footsteps, but sometimes what is best for me might not be best for them… It has to be your decision. DJ is his own guy, and he’ll do what feels right for him.”

Earlier this month Wagner did open up about his recruitment with Branham, and talked about each school.

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In regards to Louisville and what he knows about Kenny Payne, DJ said, “Not really, not too much, not a lot but he is definitely a great coach. I know that he was a great coach at Kentucky and I know that he will do a great job but I don’t have a super personal connection.”

Whereas, Wagner spoke glowingly about Kentucky.

“They definitely are recruiting me and it’s a great school. I am still open to everyone but Kentucky is a great school and I love Kentucky. It was definitely an honor seeing how much they supported me and it’s really an honor when any coach comes to watch but that was definitely great that they all came to watch.”

Kentucky should still feel confident but it is shaping up to be a battle of close connections with Calipari-Dajaun-Watkins vs. Payne-Milt-Ellison.

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Holidays for the Wagners are going to be awkward as DJ makes his decision with no timeframe set.

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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