Connect with us

BB Recruiting

Kentucky Offers 2024 Top Five Prospect, Naasir Cunningham

Published

on

Overtime Elite

Just two days after Ian Jackson announced his commitment to North Carolina over Kentucky, John Calipari and staff have moved the focus to another elite prospect. On Wednesday, Naasir Cunningham announced via Twitter that he had received an offer from Kentucky.

Cunningham is a 6-foot-7, 180-pound small forward from West Orange, New Jersey. According to 247Sports composite ranking, he is the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2024 class and the No. 1 ranked small forward. He currently averages 13.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game in the Overtime Elite League.

After spending some time in the league with the YNG Dreamerz, Cunningham now plays alongside current 2023 Kentucky signee, Rob Dillingham on the Cold Hearts. This may play a positive role in favor of Kentucky’s recruitment of Cunningham moving forward.

Advertisement

Cunningham may be just the wing player that Kentucky is looking for to replace what would’ve been Ian Jackson in 2024. The New Jersey native has the length that coaches look for along with a confident jump shot and the ability to finish at the rim.

The biggest challenge in for the Kentucky staff in Cunningham’s recruitment will be to battle Duke and the professional options. With that said, he did say back in November that no school has pulled away.

Naasir joins Tre Johnson, Boogie Fland, Flory Bidunga, Tahaad Pettiford, Billy Richmond, Karter Knox, Isaiah Elohim, Amier Ali, and Travis Perry to hold an offer from Kentucky in the 2024 class.

Scouting Report

Naas Cunningham is a long and athletic wing prospect. Offensively, he is a skilled shooter extending beyond three, specifically on the catch. However, he is also capable of creating space and hitting the jumpshot. In transition, Cunningham shows his explosiveness.

Advertisement

With a 6-foot-7, 180-pound frame, Cunningham will need to continue putting on weight and getting stronger. This would allow him to be more aggressive and attack the basket, rather than settling for difficult jump shots, which he has a tendency to do. Given his length, size, and athleticism, Cunningham has the potential to be a good team defender in time.

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