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John Calipari With Opportunity to Re-take the ‘One-and-Done’ Throne, Duke Says They Won’t Recruit as Many Freshmen

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Scheyer: © Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports, Calipari: © Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Since his time at Memphis, the “one-and-done” college basketball player has been John Calipari’s mantra. His most successful teams have been led by one-and-done star freshmen who have gone on to be lottery picks in the NBA draft.

For example, Derrick Rose, John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, Karl-Anthony Towns, De’Aaron Fox, etc. The list goes on and on.

For a long time, Calipari was alone at the top recruiting these one-year players. Many college coaches stayed away from recruiting these kinds of players in search of more “long-term” investments, a.k.a. guys who would stay with a program for 3-4 years. However, there was no denying the success that Coach Cal was having with his one-and-done type of players.

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In 2013, legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski stepped onto the one-and-done scene and began recruiting these kinds of players to Duke. After resisting the one-and-done trend for a while, he did a 180 and brought a ton of one-and-done talent to Duke until he retired after last season.

When Coach K embraced the one-and-done, he definitely gave Coach Cal a run for his money as they competed for many of the same highly touted recruits. In many cases, Coach K ended up with the upper hand in those battles.

Players that Kentucky missed out on that ended up at Duke include Zion Williamson (2018), RJ Barrett (2018), Paolo Banchero (2021), Harry Giles (2016), Vernon Carey Jr. (2019), Brandon Ingram (2015), etc.

For a while, it seemed like Coach K had stolen Coach Cal’s recruiting mojo.

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This year marks the first year that Mike Krzyzewski won’t be coaching the Duke Blue Devils since 1979. With Coach K out of the picture, it would be a prime opportunity for Coach Cal to resume his domination in recruiting.

The “Jon Scheyer Era” of Duke Basketball

In a recent interview with The Athletic, first-year Duke head basketball coach, Jon Scheyer, informed that a culture change was due for their program, starting with recruiting.

“I feel really good about what we’ve done, and what we’re doing, but going forward, to me, it’s important that we have continuity from season to season,’’ Scheyer told the Athletic. “From a culture perspective, it’s hard to do in college basketball, but we feel we can do it in a really good way, while still recruiting differently. I don’t think we’ll recruit as many freshmen in a class going forward.’’

“Unpack your bags,’’ he says. “It’s not a pit stop. You have to be all in.’’

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If this is the route that Duke decides to go with recruiting going forward, the opportunity for John Calipari to dominate recruiting one-and-done players once again is right there for the taking.

It does need to be noted that the article says, “Calipari, the mastermind of one-and-done winning, has hit the portal hard to get old.” However, this is primarily because of the increased competition in recruiting elite prospects.

Other programs have done well recruiting the one-and-done’s also, but Duke has by-and-far been Kentucky’s greatest competition. More teams are now also taking advantage of the revamped transfer portal, trying to cash in on talented players with division 1 experience.

With the revamped transfer portal and Kentucky’s largest recruiting competition intending to make a change with their recruiting, Coach Cal’s recruitment of the one-and-done stars may run unopposed.

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Kentucky fans may see John Calipari and the Wildcats rule college basketball once again, sooner rather than later.

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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