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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 Has Contacted Nation’s Leading Scorer, Four-Star Transfer Jaron Pierre Who Is “Definitely” Interested in the Cats

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Jacksonville State transfer Jaron Pierre has been contacted by Kentucky.
Jacksonville State Athletics

There are more than a thousand players in the transfer portal, meaning names are flying left and right. As of April 1st, Kentucky has one commitment in Kam Williams (Tulane), and is projected to land top 25 transfer Magoon Gwath (San Diego State).

That said, the Kentucky staff has been in contact with more than a dozen players, and there is another notable player to add to that list.

KY Insider can report that Kentucky has contacted Jaron Pierre from Jacksonville State. Pierre is currently a four-star transfer prospect and ranked as the 34th ranked prospect in 247Sports‘ transfer portal rankings.

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At Jacksonville State last season, Pierre scored more points than anyone else in college basketball (777 points), averaging 21.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while shooting 38.2% from 3-point range (9.0 attempts per game). He scored 30 points or more in six games, and only had one game where he did not score in double digits. His impressive play earned him Conference USA Player of the Year honors.

Pierre also had prior stops at Southern Miss and Wichita State, where he spent two years at each school, and will be going into his sixth season of college basketball. Pierre has also declared for the NBA Draft, but is not currently projected on any mock drafts.

While still early in his recruitment, Pierre tells KY Insider that he is “definitely” interested in Kentucky, but no Zoom meeting or visit has been scheduled.

“I love it Big Blue Nation,” Pierre said of the Kentucky program. He also really liked what Mark Pope was able to do in his first season in Lexington. “He was able to pick up right where it left off.”

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The level of competition is always a question when evaluating a mid-major talent, but Pierre’s athleticism jumps off the page and a 38.2% clip from three on nine attempts per game is nothing to slight at.

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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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BB Recruiting

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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