Nothing is off the table in the NIL (name, image, likeness) era of college sports recruiting, with the latest development in Lexington coming in the form of a former player recruiting for the ‘Cats on social media.

Dontaie Allen, now a senior guard for the Wyoming Cowboys, played for Kentucky for two seasons between 2020-2022. He’d transfer to Western Kentucky for two more seasons before finding his final home out west with Wyoming for a fifth season.

With the transfer portal officially opening for the upcoming season next week on March 24, players from across the country and on all levels are starting to throw their names into the hat – perhaps the most prevalent among them thus far is Obi Agbim, the Cowboys’ starting guard.

Agbim, averaging 18/3/3 on year, has been granted the ability to play a fifth and final season due to “JUCO” rules that have allowed flexible eligibility for swathes of talented players across the country who went the junior college route.

Familiar Familia

Allen, now Agbim’s teammate, made multiple comments on an Instagram post announcing his entering into the portal. The first of which was simply “La Familia,” a term that may or may not ring familiar to Kentucky fans.

The second, and certainly more curious, was Allen’s usage of a GIF of himself in a Kentucky uniform from a few years ago. This comment, having tallied more than 250 likes and counting, is visible at the top of the comment section and among the most trafficked of the bunch (although most all replies are Kentucky-oriented, too). While Agbim himself hasn’t interacted with the reply directly, he has liked other comments left to allure him to Lexington, such as “They saying Kentucky twin” and “If you go to Kentucky beat bama and Tennessee…”

If he does end up in the blue and white, fans couldn’t ask for a much better start than that.

After a game that rolled into the next day, the Wildcats celebrated after Otega Oweh hit a buzzer-beating layup to advance in the SEC Tournament.

However, with less than 24 hours to prepare for the next opponent, the Alabama Crimson Tide, it seemed like Kentucky wasn’t favored for another miraculous win with the absence of Lamont Butler. 

Alabama would go on to beat Kentucky for the third time this season, blowing the Wildcats out by just under 30 points. 

However, after the game, the upperclassmen were adamant about leaving it all on the court and focusing on the future. 

“I’m ready to die on the court next game, I swear,” said Koby Brea. “Just forget about this one (the Alabama loss), it’s a tough one, it’s embarrassing.”

Andrew Carr would add on that every game, rain or shine, the Wildcats give it everything they have. 

“That’s part of it, for us, we’ve attacked every single game as the biggest game we’ve ever played in our career,” said Carr when asked about potentially playing his last game. “Of course, you can try and point to a lot of different things, but for us, we know that we got to do a better job of being ourselves and not tryna get outside of what we do.” 

Amari Williams tacked on the same ideas as his teammates. 

 “Just remembering that every game you gotta have full energy and motivation going in and just knowing that you gotta leave everything out on the floor,” said Williams when asked about the mindset in the NCAA Tournament.

Now, with hopes of making waves in the big dance, the Wildcats will remember what Mark Pope said after the Oklahoma game. 

“If you’re going to beat us, you’re going to have to kill us.”

Malachi Moreno is undoubtedly an incredible basketball prospect. The 6’11 big, who just won Mr. Basketball in Kentucky and is working through his senior year of varsity hoops, is averaging 22 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and four blocks per game for Great Crossing.

But it isn’t his on-court ability that had Mark Pope singing his praises on his weekly radio show. Pope recently visited Moreno at his high school, where the Kentucky commit works with fellow students who have special needs.

“We got a really special basketball player,” said Pope, who has become quickly notorious for recruiting players for their abilities on and off the floor. “All he wanted to do was let me go experience the greatness of these fellow students that he works with on a regular basis.”

“We got an incredible human being. Big Blue Nation is going to fall in love with him.”

That is, if they haven’t already. In addition to Moreno’s admirable service work and eye-popping statistics, he was born and raised in the Commonwealth State. Georgetown, right down the road from Lexington, is his home.

Not only that, but Moreno has often been seen taking pictures with fans at games and out and about on the town before them, meeting the BBN in waves before so much as stepping on the court in front of them. He’s a player with a proven heart for the ‘Cats fanbase, as well as the people in the community around him.

Malachi Moreno is a name already making the rounds throughout Rupp Arena. There are few prospects more exciting than seeing what difference he’ll be able to make in Lexington, in many more ways than one.