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LOOK: Three Players of Kentucky Basketball’s Freshman Class Arrive on Campus

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UK Athletics

Returning just two players that played 5+ minutes per game last season, the biggest thing giving Kentucky fans any sense of optimism or hope is the incoming freshman class.

Featuring five players in the top 45, including three in the top 10, the 2023 class is Kentucky’s second No. 1 class since 2015. Even more interesting, the class features two of the three top five prospects the Wildcats have signed in that same span. In other words, there are high expectations.

Of course, five freshmen and two returnees can’t win a National Title, but while we await the staff to fill next season’s roster, the freshmen have started to move into campus at the Wildcat Coal Lodge.

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On Wednesday, Reed Sheppard kicked things off as he backed out of the Kentucky-Indiana High School All-Star Classic to move in early. As the official Kentucky men’s basketball account put it, “the Sheppard Family legacy continues.”

On Friday, two more members of the freshman class moved into campus, Rob Dillingham and Aaron Bradshaw.

With Sheppard, Dillingham, and Bradshaw now moved in, that leaves just Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner to make their moves. That is expected to happen this week. With Kentucky representing the United States in Canada for GLBL Jam, starting July 7th, it will be important for this team to start building chemistry.

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BB Recruiting

Transfer Portal Target “Willing To Do Whatever” To Help Kentucky Win A Title

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There is mutual interest between Kentucky and transfer guard BJ Freeman, who says "will do whatever" to help Kentucky win another title.
MARK HOFFMAN/USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s transfer portal season and now that the season is over and players begin to make their decisions, the Kentucky staff is starting to evaluate some players in the transfer portal and reach out to them. The player Kentucky has reached out to most recently is BJ Freeman, a 6-6 guard for the Milwaukee Panthers.

It’s safe to say the interest is mutual.

“Kentucky is a historic program. You can’t play for anyone better than Coach Cal,” Freeman said recently in an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio. “Pro-wise, guard-wise, the success he’s had, it doesn’t get any better than that. I feel like my game can carry on and play his play style. If I love it there and we continue this process, maybe I could be one of the next Kentucky greats and Kentucky pros.”

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Known for his scoring, averaging 21.1 points per game last season, 16th in the nation, Freeman wants it to be known that he is doing whatever it takes to help Kentucky win.

“People underestimate my passing because they see me score the ball so well,” he said. “Being able to get my teammates involved and seeing my teammates score the ball gives me more joy than having myself score. That’s a big thing that I want to show coaches. I’m really versatile. I can also initiate the offense. I’m willing to do whatever to win and put another banner up there at Kentucky.

While Kentucky has contacted Freeman, no details of a visit have been set. He expects that to change over the next few days as he communicates with Kentucky assistant Chuck Martin.

“We should continue to talk today; we’re going to keep building the relationship and see if I can come down there and take a visit,” he said. “We’re just going to stay in touch, keep communicating to make the process go a little bit faster, and keep things going. It’s really about building a relationship.”

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While Kentucky sounds to be in a really good spot for Freeman, Arkansas is also pursuing his services. However, there have been rumors that Eric Musselman wants out of Arkansas and is showing interest in other jobs, which could change things. That said, what is Freeman looking for in a school?

“I’m big on family vibes and brotherhood. That’s exactly what Kentucky is based on,” he said. “I love everybody. I love bringing joy and putting smiles on people’s faces. I’m looking for a program that’s going to embrace me, a fanbase that’s going to embrace me through my ups and downs. I want them to still believe in me through down moments too.”

Freeman is not on any NBA Draft Boards and after talking to his mother, has decided he will not go through the draft process. Instead, he wants to make his decision on where he will play his last season of college basketball in about “three weeks”.

“I’m more than willing to contribute and be one of those key factors to bring another championship to the state of Kentucky. I want the state to be happy for me and proud of me. That’s my big goal with them. You guys are going to embrace me. You guys are going to love me and I can’t wait to get the process going. [I’m going to] come visit the campus and see what it’s all about.”

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Freeman’s comments come off very eager. If Kentucky truly wants Freeman, it sounds like they are the favorite.

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2024 5-Star Wing Karter Knox Commits To Kentucky

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2024 five-star prospect, Karter Knox commits to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Adam Hagy | Overtime Elite

Over the weekend, Kentucky not only got a Top 5 road win against Tennessee, or be featured in Drake’s concert at Rupp Arena, but they also received a 2024 commitment from a five-star recruit.

Karter Knox, a top-20 player in the 2024 class, and brother of former Wildcat Kevin Knox, announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday. Karter committed to Kentucky over South Florida, Louisville, and a return to Overtime Elite, with the latter two being seen as the most likely destination until nearly the very end.

Why Kentucky? “Coach Calipari has sent a lot of people to the league and I want to be a pro,” Knox said after his commitment. “He told me he’s going to make me a pro. I’m ready to hoop and win a national championship.”

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Knox joins five-star prospects Jayden Quaintance, Boogie Fland, and Somto Cyril, and four-stars Travis Perry and Billy Richmond in Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class. Together, Kentucky’s class now ranks 2nd in the nation, behind Duke.

Don’t think that Knox will be Kentucky’s last take in the class as there are murmurs of 2024 decomitmments and 2025 reclassifications including Darryn Peterson, Jasper Johnson, and most recently, Joson Sanon.

Scouting Report

Per 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein.

Karter Knox is a true three-range scorer on the wing. He’s not quite as big as advertised, but he compensates with long arms, a naturally strong build, soft hands, good timing in a variety of different circumstances, and a versatile skill-set.

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While he’s a shooting threat from three with a soft natural ball and compact release, and even capable of making some threes on the move, he’s proven to be most efficient inside the arc to this point in his career.

He has very good perimeter footwork, can attack to either side off the dribble without wasting much motion, and plays through contact while doing so. He is a consistent pull-up threat in the mid-range area and showing an increased willingness to punish smaller defenders in the post. He’s shown flashes of passing ability and unselfishness, and is also a quality rebounder on the wing.

Defensively, he’s not the most laterally quick, but has enough size and length to be effective. The key is being consistently locked in though as he has times, particularly with his high school team, where he’s shown less sense of urgency on that end of the floor.

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2025 No. 1 Point Guard Darius Acuff Updates Recruitment, Talks About Kentucky Wanting Him to Be A Leader

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Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Darius Acuff, the No. 9 player and No. 1 point guard in the 2025 class, is one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting targets in the class. While he has yet to drop a top list, Kentucky is believed to be in a really good position.

With his recruitment about to ramp up this spring, Acuff spoke with On3 to update his recruitment and discuss the two official visits he took last fall, one of which was to Kentucky for Big Blue Madness.

“It was lit down there,” he told On3. “I went down for Big Blue Madness. They’re a great school and have put a lot of players in the league. I’ve been doing my research on all the schools and I’ve seen all the guards they’ve had. They play my style of play and let their guards make plays. Their facilities were big and they definitely showed a lot of love when I was there. It was a great school.”

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During another interview with 247Sports, Acuff provided some insight into what the staff talked about during his visit.

“On the visit they told me to watch DJ Wagner and see how he talks and his leadership as the point guard of the team,” Acuff said. “They’d want to play my game if I were to go there, get to the next level and be a leader. Most of our conversations was about being a leader 24/7 because the team will go how you go.”

Kentucky recruiting Acuff as a leader suggests that the staff envisions him to be a key piece for the 2025 class, leading the team as the point guard.

Acuff’s lone other visit was to his home state school of Michigan, but he is looking to take more over the coming weeks and months, to Kansas (March 5th), Texas, Houston, Georgia Tech, and others.

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What is Acuff looking for in a school? “I’m going to be looking for a program and a coach that is going to let me do me and let me rock out,” he says. “I want to play with a coach who is going to teach me right from wrong and be there to support me. I’ve thought some about the pro stuff, I want to go to college though. Yeah, college for sure.”

John Calipari will let a player “rock out” if they prove themself to be good enough, just look at Rob Dillingham this season. That said, a proven three-level scorer, Acuff put up the fourth-highest point average in Nike’s EYBL last season.

For Kentucky, this is a positive update and certainly a recruitment to watch.

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