Connect with us

BB Recruiting

How Did Kentucky’s Two Five-Star Signees Perform in the McDonald’s All-American Game?

Published

on

Kentucky Signee Cason Wallace (Photo by Brian Spurlock | Icon Sportswire)

Kentucky is bringing in two top-10 to next year’s roster, Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston. They both faced off against each other in last night’s annual McDonald’s All-American game, with Livingston’s East team taking down Wallace’s West team, 105-81.

Keep in mind, this was just an exhibition (as you could probably tell by the score), but both showed flashes of their talent and earned praise from the broadcasters.

Kentucky has been missing that alpha male mentality in recent seasons, but Cason Wallace has shown that mentality and hopes to bring it with him to Lexington.

Advertisement

In addition to his mentality, the 6-4 combo guard, has been touted as one of the best defensive playmakers in this class. With his length and intangibles, Wallace has the ability to lock up his opponents.

Check out this short breakdown of Wallace from last summer’s Nike EYBL play.

Wallace struggled from the field, shooting 3-10, but recorded seven points, five rebounds, six assists, and a steal, but was given praise from ESPN’s Cory Alexander. Alexander complimented Wallace on the leadership he showed throughout the week leading up to last night’s game, and also praised him for his ability to always make the correct play.

Livington’s night was a bit better, scoring 13 points and adding six rebounds, five assists and blocked a shot. If it weren’t for Livingston going 1-7 from the free-throw line, he would have had a serious bid to be the game’s MVP. With that being said, don’t freak out. Livingston was a 70% free throw shooter at Oak Hill Academy, so there shouldn’t be any strong belief that he is a liability at the line.

Advertisement

The 6-6 wing has a tremendous physical build, explosive athleticism, and some versatility that could allow him to play a point-forward role. Livingston is also a very active player that has a knack for coming up with loose balls, which ESPN’s Paul Biancardi pointed out, saying, ” He just plays hard all the time… He reminds me in many ways of a poor man’s Jimmy Butler.”

I feel sorry for the rims at Rupp Arena next season.

After losing to Saint Peter’s and a lot of roster uncertainty, there is plenty to be frustrated at, but Wildcat fans should be somewhat comforted knowing that these two guys are coming in next season. As Kyle Tucker put it, “both are absolutely grown-ass men.”

Advertisement

BB Recruiting

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

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.”

Advertisement

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.

Continue Reading

BB Recruiting

Kentucky Receives First Transfer Commitment From Top 25 Prospect, “Not Many People Get Opportunities Like This”

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.”

Advertisement

Continue Reading

BB Recruiting

Kentucky Named a Finalist for Five Star, Top 5 NBA Prospect Nate Ament

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

“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.

Advertisement

Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

Continue Reading

Trending