The transfer portal is heating up with the 2022-23 college basketball season coming to a close. With the season ending, players are looking to potentially take their talents elsewhere by putting their names in. The Kentucky basketball team is keeping their eye out and looking to capitalize on some available talent.

To this point, there are five prospects in the portal that Kentucky has reached out to, but don’t be surprised to see that list grow in the coming days/weeks.

Contacted Targets

Chris Ledlum, F (JR) – Harvard: Ledlum was one of the first players to enter the portal for 2023. He will have two years of eligibility.

The forward stands 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds. In his junior year, he averaged 16.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Ledlum’s strengths include his high basketball IQ, his off-ball skills, his physical length and strength, and also his defensive ability. He averaged 1.8 steals per game this season and was second in the Ivy League with a 92.4 defensive rating.

His weaknesses are his overall athleticism and ability to shoot from beyond the arc. This season, he struggled shooting only 31.4 percent from three. For his career, he is only a 29.4 percent three-point shooter.

Other schools that have reached out to Ledlum include Indiana, St. John’s, Ohio State, Maryland, Arkansas, Xavier, UCLA, Nebraska, Florida, and LSU.

Dalton Knecht, G (SR) – Northern Colorado: Knecht is one of the top-scoring threats in the portal for 2023. He has one season of eligibility.

Knecht is a 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard who averaged 20.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.8 assists this season. He shot 47.9 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from three.

In addition to his ability to shoot, Knecht has the quickness and athleticism to make plays at the rim as well.

The athletic, scoring threat will be heavily desired as many top-tier programs have reached out to him already.

Kel’el Ware, F/C (FR) – Oregon: Ware was a 5-star prospect in the 2022 class. He stands 7-feet tall and 210 pounds. He will have at least 3 years of eligibility left.

Coming off the bench for Oregon at 15.8 minutes per game, Ware averaged 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks.

The talented center has great size, length, and athleticism. He has an expanded skill set and ability to guard positions 1-5, much like former Kentucky 7-footer, Willie Cauley-Stein. Ware can create shots in mid-range, low post, and can stretch the floor with his ability to shoot the three.

TJ Bamba, G (JR) – Washington State: Bamba is a 6-foot-5, 215-pound shooting guard/small forward that can score in multiple ways. He will have two seasons of eligibility.

This season, he averaged 15.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. He shot 37.2% from three. Another gifted scoring option should Kentucky end up locking him down.

Bamba has also entered his name in the 2023 NBA draft while maintaining college eligibility.

Graham Ike, C (JR) – Wyoming: Ike had a medical redshirt this season after sustaining a foot injury back in November. However, the season prior, Ike was one of the best big men in the country.

In 2021-22, the 6-foot-9, 225-pound center averaged 19.5 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.

In addition to Kentucky, he has heard from Arkansas, Arizona, Arizona State, Butler, Colorado, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Indiana, Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, San Diego State, Seton Hall, Tennessee, Washington State, Xavier, and West Virginia.

Potential Targets

Ace Baldwin, G (JR) – VCU: Baldwin is a 5-foot-11, 170-pound guard from Baltimore. As a recruit of the 2020 class, Kentucky actually recruited him out of high school. He was an AAU teammate of former Wildcat, Immanuel Quickley.

This season, Baldwin averaged 12.7 points, 5.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. This was good enough to earn him Atlantic 10 Player of the Year. He also was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year.

Even though there is a prior connection, it is not likely that he will end up a Wildcat. There have been multiple predictions with close to 100% certainty that Baldwin will follow his coach, Mike Rhodes, to Penn State. But, nothing is decided as of yet.

A player like Baldwin, a veteran point guard, will definitely be the type of player that Kentucky will look out for in the portal with the departure of Sahvir Wheeler.

LJ Cryer, J (SR) – Baylor: One of the best players in the portal, Cryer will be highly sought after. A freshman on the 2021 Baylor national championship team, Cryer has become one of the team’s stars.

This past season, Cryer displayed his ability to efficiently score at all three levels, averaging 15 ppg on 42 percent from three. In addition, Cyrer ranked in the 94th percentile in offensive efficiency against man-to-man defenses.

Given that Kentucky’s freshman guards will receive a lot of playing time, Cryer coming to Kentucky is unlikely unless there is an unforeseen issue, but it doesn’t hurt to try. Jerome Tang of Kansas State was Cryer’s lead recruiter when he was at Baylor, which assumes Kansas State as the early favorite.

Puff Johnson, F (JR) – North Carolina: Johnson is the younger brother to former Tar Heel and current NBA player, Cam Johnson. He will have two years of eligibility. While it has been reported that Kentucky has reached out to Johnson, his father Gil, says that is not the case.

Johnson averaged 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds for UNC this season off the bench. He stands 6-foot-8, 200 pounds, with good length and athleticism. Out of high school, Johnson was labeled as a shooter/scorer but only shot 38.7% from the field, 28.3% from three, and 65.8% from the free-throw line.

Ahron Ulis, G (JR) – Iowa: Ulis is the younger brother to all-time Kentucky great, Tyler Ulis. He has one season of eligibility.

In his first two seasons at Iowa, Ulis served more as role player off the bench until he earned a starting role this season. In 22 minutes per game, he averaged 6.1 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.6 rebounds.

The connection to the program is obviously there. His experience would be beneficial to have around for the young, freshman guards in DJ Wagner and Rob Dillingham coming in.