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Dwayne Washington, A Tale of Two Stories

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Staff/Torstar

Dwayne Washington is the mentor of Shaedon Sharpe and has had a good connection with Kentucky and John Calipari for several years, dating back to another player of his, Shai Gligeous-Alexander.

Well, I’d say that relationship is now on the rocks, if not severed.

From the time Sharpe stepped on campus as an early enrollee, Washington repeatedly told the coaching staff and the public that Sharpe would not be entering the 2022 NBA Draft and will be playing for Kentucky for the 2022-23 season, which you can read here.

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However, according to The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker, Washington has been saying the complete opposite behind the scenes.

Via text message, Washington declined four times to answer a direct question from Tucker on Thursday: Do you dispute that you’ve been telling people in the NBA that Sharpe plans to stay in the draft?

Rather than providing a simple response, Washington deflected, telling Tucker, “From now on, I’m only going to respond to actual names of people. Because the term ‘NBA people’ is broad. I wouldn’t listen to anyone if I were you. Just go by Shaedon’s statement. Those are the facts.”

Washington went on to add that Sharpe “has no agent!!!!” (Washington has failed to earn his agent certification) and concluded that “if he [Sharpe] wanted to leave, he would have left a long time ago.”

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One unnamed agent that has been in contact with Washington, admitted that as far back as the fall, Washington confirmed to him that Sharpe would be in the 2022 NBA Draft.

What a circus.

Sharpe nor his family should receive the blame for this, at the end of the day they trusted Washington, their advisor and he led them down a circus.

While fans never got to know Sharpe too well, he is a shy, quiet kid that was well-liked by the staff and his teammates, but the actions of others may have consequences on the projected top-10 draft pick.

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Washington, as mentioned has yet to receive his agent certification, which is fitting as he created a no-win narrative for Sharpe and handled the situation as an amateur.

Once again you can read many of Washington’s lies to fans here.

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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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