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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Leave/Stay Predictions Following Player Meetings

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John Calipari says this Kentucky team is playing with "supreme confidence" and he has never had this many players "live in the gym".
IMAGN-USA Today Network

The 2023-24 Kentucky basketball season is over, meaning it is time to prepare for the 2024-25 season. The first step in that is the decision of the current players to leave/return, which they will announce over the coming days and weeks.

John Calipari met with each player last week to discuss their future and their options. Let’s look at where things stand with each of them.

Gone/Likely Gone

Graduates

Kentucky will have two key contributors graduating as fifth-year seniors this season, Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell. Unfortunately, their college careers are over.

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Rob Dillingham

Rob Dillingham came to Kentucky as their 4th highest-ranked recruit last season. Despite some offseason hopes that he could be a two-year player, he has worked and played his into a projected Top 5 pick, and could be Kentucky’s first since De’Aaron Fox in 2017.

Prediction: NBA Draft
Confidence Level: High, 100%

Ugonna Onyenso

Ugonna Onyenso entered the transfer portal last season, not really on his own accord. This time it is a little different. He wasn’t sure how he would fit in the lineup coming back from injury. When he did, he had his moments, he was inconsistent.

That said, Oneysno had the second-highest block percentage in the country this season (14.8%). Many schools will pursue a 7-foot, elite shot blocker.

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Prediction: Transfer
Confidence Level: High, 90%

Aaron Bradshaw

For a time, Aaron Bradshaw was the No. 1 recruit in the 2023 class. Unfortunately, in his freshman season at Kentucky, there were only flashes of that and by the end was only getting spot minutes.

Bradshaw’s name is no longer featured on NBA Draft Boards and he and those around him are interested in a fresh start. That said, he was one of the emotional players in the locker room after the loss to Oakland.

Prediction: Transfer
Confidence Level: Medium-High, 75%

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Reed Sheppard

A product of London, Kentucky, Reed Sheppard was a McDonald’s All-American and was believed to be a 2-3 year player. Then he went on to have one of the most efficient seasons in program history and won National Freshman of the Year, even surprising himself to an extent.

Sheppard is in a unique situation, being an in-state talent and loving this program, but also being a projected Top 10 pick. The NIL money (estimated $3-$ million) will be there if he returns. However, Sheppard’s draft stock will never be higher and he will be risking A LOT with a return.

Prediction: NBA Draft
Confidence Level: Medium-High, 70%

Difficult Decisions

Adou Thiero

Since the end of the season, John Calipari has expressed a desire to get older and more physical. Both characteristics fit Adou Thiero. However, last week Thiero announced that he will be going through the draft process and also entering the transfer portal, keeping all his options open, including a return to Kentucky.

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Thiero has some second-round draft grades, but has first-round potential with another year. That said, the biggest threat is the portal. The staff will attempt to recruit Thiero back, but there are certainly concerns. If Thiero’s goal is the NBA, Kentucky is the best place for him, but NIL and role have to be right.

Prediction: Stay
Confidence Level: Low, 40%

DJ Wagner

If you look at the incoming class, it is big and wing-heavy. Kentucky needs to add to its backcourt and a sophomore DJ Wagner is one the best options available.

A former No. 1 recruit, Wagner found his stride in the middle of the season, but after a serious ankle injury that kept him out multiple games, he struggled to regain his rhythm through much of February and March. Calipari noted that he believes that he has 1-2 guards that he hopes to return and Wagner is certainly one of them.

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Wagner has the connections and upside to be drafted, but another year would serve he and his draft stock well.

Prediction: Stay
Confidence Level: Low, 50%

Justin Edwards

Justin Edwards was the Wildcat with the highest draft projection going into the season. During Kentucky’s GLOBL Jam trip in July, he looked the part, averaging 14.5 PPG and 6.5 RPG. However, the regular season was filled with struggles until February, where he became one of Kentucky’s biggest contributors.

That stretch of play put Edwards back in the first-round conversation. He will enter the draft process, hoping to get a first-round draft grade. If he does, which is most likely, he will remain in the draft, but if he doesn’t a return is on the table.

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Prediction: NBA Draft
Confidence Level: Medium-High, 70%

Zvonimir Ivisic

After a six-month-long battle to get him admitted into Kentucky and eligible to play, Zvonimir Ivisic may have had the best debut in Kentucky basketball history. Being forced to adapt during SEC play, Ivisic certainly took steps forward and started to emerge as Kentucky’s top big towards the end of the season.

Ivisic came to Kentucky intending to play one season before going to the NBA. At 7-2, with great perimeter skills, a team could take him with a second-round pick. However, Ivisic has enjoyed his time in Lexington, and with a full offseason to build on his frame and become accustomed, he could play his way into a lottery pick.

That said, Ivisic has entered the draft process twice already, meaning he cannot test the waters. He has to decide whether to enter or return. Given the terms of Ivisic coming to Kentucky, I lean toward him going to the draft.

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Prediction: NBA Draft
Confidence Level: Medium, 60%

Jordan Burks

The former leading scorer at Overtime Elite, Jordan Burks was a great depth piece to add to the roster last summer, with the plan to develop him over 2-3 seasons. While he didn’t receive consistent playing time this season, he had his moments and showed that he can be a valuable player going forward.

Since the season ended on March 21st, Burks has made several posts of his workouts in the practice facility and looks to be preparing for a sophomore season. Given the variables of the incoming class and potential returnees, he could be one to watch for the transfer portal.

Prediction: Stay
Confidence Level: Medium, 50%

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Joey Hart

Similar to Burks, Joey Hart is a player who committed to Kentucky, knowing he would be a multi-year guy. What I can say here is, that Calipari wants him to return, and Hart and his family want to be at Kentucky, but it is all dependent on what the roster looks like.

Prediction: Stay
Confidence Level: Medium, 60%

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Men's Basketball

Jasper Johnson Makes Final U19 USA Roster Under Coach Mark Pope

Jasper Johnson has advanced in the U19 USA camp for the second time alongside the nation’s best recruits, and under Mark Pope’s wing.

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Jasper Johnson advances at U19 camp.
Instagram: @bruhjasperj (UK Athletics)

In a surprisingly relevant development smack dab in the middle of the offseason, Jasper Johnson has yet again advanced in the pool of players participating in the USA U19 camp.

The program, which could be a described as a sort of extension of the Team USA that just took home the gold in 2024, is comprised of some of the nation’s most anticipated talents set to take collegiate courts in the next couple of seasons.

Blue Gets In

Among them is Kentucky native and commit Johnson, and was also incoming Cat Malachi Moreno, before the latter was cut as a result of a mild injury he obtained throughout the camp’s course. Despite Moreno’s exit, his future teammate continues to impress.

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Under the wing of Coach Mark Pope, who’s helmed the team in the camp up to this point, Johnson has now made the final cut after multiple roster slashes – he and only 11 other players remain in the minority that will go forward to actually compete for the team in the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup, which will take place June 28 through July 6 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The pre-competition camp serves not only as a trial of play before these athletes disperse to their own respective rosters this fall and next, but for Johnson, as a preview of what it’s like to play under Coach Pope. If his current success is any indicator, Kentucky fans may be in for something special when the pair tackle opposing teams together for the blue and white.

In similar noteworthy news, also attending the event are Taylen Kinney and Tyran Stokes, two Kentucky-born athletes with ties to Kentucky that the program is heavily recruiting. Jasper’s strong performance, combined with Coach Pope’s presence, can only help the Wildcats’ chances on that front, too.

To say the least, Mark Pope has found a way to facilitate Kentucky’s influence far beyond the boundaries of Lexington. He and Johnson, for the time being, will continue to press turn heads on the national stage, and it’s very likely that fans aren’t the only ones paying attention.

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Men's Basketball

Archie Goodwin and Kahlil Whitney Set to Join La Familia This Summer

La Familia continues to add more firepower to the 2025 roster.

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James Crisp (Left), Adam Hunger (Right) | Associated Press

As the start of the 2025 TBT Tournament inches closer, La Familia has been slowly but surely adding star Wildcats to the roster.

Usually, we see announcements for new additions to the squad roll out on social media in some form, whether it be a post from La Familia’s official accounts or in form of Ansley Almonor’s announcement, which took place on BBN Tonight.

However, this time, Archie Goodwin and Kahlil “The Dragon” Whitney were added to the roster on the TBT website without any announcement, surprising Big Blue Nation as the news leaked and began to circulate.

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They were removed from the website afterwards, but as of Thursday, June 19, appear on the website as listed members of the roster.

Goodwin has been an active member for years, highlighted by his semifinals appearance last year where he averaged 13.8 points per game en route.

Whitney is a name that may cause some to shed a tear, with so much potential surrounding the former five-star leading up to his debut. Ultimately, he left the program after appearing in just 18 games for Kentucky.

La Familia is competitive as all get out, shown by chippy play with guys who have nothing to lose but everything to win for the place they call home. Goodwin and Whitney, now added to that list of guys, will look to redeem themselves with one goal in mind. Win.

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The official La Familia roster as of June 19:

– Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15)

– Doron Lamb (2010-12)

– DeAndre Liggins (2008-11)

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– Aaron Harrison (2013-15)

– Andrew Harrison (2013-15)

– Ansley Almonor (2024-25)

– Archie Goodwin (2012-13)

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– Kahlil Whitney (2019-20)

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Men's Basketball

Former Kentucky Star, 10-year NBA Veteran Eric Bledsoe Arrested and Charged with Felony Domestic Violence

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Former Kentucky guard Eric Bledsoe has been arrested and charged with felony domestic violence.
Scott Utterback | Courier Journal

Eric Bledsoe, a key part of the 2009-10 Kentucky team that reinvigorated the Big Blue Nation following the Billy Gillispie era, was arrested on Wednesday morning.

According to reports, the California Highway Patrol investigated a report of domestic violence. The investigators were led to a gas station on a Los Angeles-area freeway where they discovered Bledsoe with a woman who was suffering from “bruising and swelling” to her face, and who said that Bledsoe allegedly hit her. Bledsoe was booked on a felony domestic violence charge and held on $55,000 bail.

Bledsoe was previously arrested on a similar charge back in 2022, but that case was later dropped when prosecutors said the alleged victim gave “inconsistent statements about whether there was a physical altercation.”

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Bledsoe was part of Kentucky’s La Familia team last year in the TBT, and was announced to return again this season.

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