BB Recruiting

Kentucky Lost Out on Five-Star Recruit, for Two Commits That Will Never Play

Published

4 years ago

April 25, 2022

Photo By Dan Fritz

Kentucky Wildcat fans have become familiar with Skyy Clark and Shaedon Sharpe over the past year. Being two highly rated commits for the 2023 class, the Big Blue Nation was understandably excited.

Clark, at the time of his commitment to Kentucky, was ranked in the top 10 of some recruiting services and considered to be one of the best point guards in the country. However, he tore his ACL in July of 2021, and upon his return has never quite looked like the same player and has dropped outside the top 30 in most rankings. This resulted in a mutual decommitment back in March between UK and Clark, and he has since committed to play for Illinois.

The No. 1 recruit of the 2023 class before reclassifying, Sharpe became Kentucky’s first top-5 recruit since Bam Adebayo in 2016. Sharpe made the decision to enroll early, coming to Kentucky for the 2022 spring semester. However, as announced on Thursday, Sharpe has entered his name in the NBA Draft and unless on the minuscule chance he is ruled ineligible, he will keep his name in.

What do these two players have in common? They will never play a minute of basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats and they pushed away a top-five recruit.

Have you heard of Nick Smith? Well, get familiar because we will see him in conference play this season.

Smith is a consensus top-10 player in the 2023 class, and he wanted to come to Kentucky. With Clark and Sharpe it did not appear that there were any roster spots available, leading him to commit to his home state school of Arkansas.

One of the best shooting guards in the class, Travis Branham describes Smith as an offensive threat that Kentucky could greatly use.

“Nick Smith is one of the best scorers in the country with a very confident and aggressive approach to the game. His foot never comes off the gas and he gets after it on both ends of the floor. He’s got size, length, athleticism and can fill it up from all three levels and does an excellent job for a high schooler at getting to the free-throw line. He’s got range on his jumper off the catch and bounce, he has floaters, he defends and is excellent in the open floor.”

It’s a shame that of the three players, none will play for Kentucky. In hindsight, if John Calipari and staff had a redo, Smith would be a Wildcat.

With that said, there are two diaper-dandy freshmen coming in that shouldn’t be overlooked, Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston.

BB Recruiting

Kentucky Basketball Receives Prediction to Land International Star Nikola Kusturica

Published

2 days ago

June 17, 2026

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky basketball has taken over as the favorite for Serbian star Nikola Kusturica, a projected lottery pick in 2028, with a prediction backing the Wildcats.

Just when many believed Kentucky’s roster was complete in terms of contributing players, Mark Pope might have an ace up his sleeve.

Last week, it was reported that Kentucky was among the frontrunners to land 6-foot-8 Serbian wing Nikola Kusturica. At the time, Gonzaga was thought to be the team to beat, having a more defined role to offer, compared to Kentucky, who has one remaining roster spot and a good amount of depth in wing positions.

Since then, things have shifted in a big way.

Gonzaga received a commitment from 18-year-old French guard Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa on Sunday. By Tuesday night, the Wildcats received a Crystal Ball prediction from 247Sports’ Travis Branham to land Kusturica, with a confidence level of 7 out of 10.

The 6-foot-8 wing currently plays for FC Barcelona in Spain’s Liga ACB and EuroLeague system. He just turned 17 years old and is reportedly seeking a two-year college opportunity before becoming draft-eligible in 2028, where he is already being projected as a lottery pick.

The on-court résumé speaks for itself. In the 2025 FIBA U16 EuroBasket, he averaged 20 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game while leading Serbia to a championship and was named tournament MVP. He also helped Barcelona capture the Adidas NextGen Finals championship last month, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds in the title game against Real Madrid.

Next, Kusturica will represent Serbia in the FIBA U17 World Cup from June 27 to July 5, and a college decision could come before then.

Mark Pope is carrying a lot of momentum in recent weeks after retaining Malachi Moreno and adding Milan Momcilovic to this season’s roster, as well as landing the first top 10 prospect of his career in Ryan Hampton. If he can close on Kusturica, that would cap off the roster in a significant way and continue to change the narrative around his recruiting ability.

BB Recruiting

Kentucky Earns Commitment From No. 6 Prospect in 2027 Class Ryan Hampton

Published

2 weeks ago

June 7, 2026

Kai McClelland

Photo via UK Athletics

How about a Sunday boom in the recruiting world for you BBN?

Ryan Hampton, the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2027 class, has officially committed to the University of Kentucky! This is Mark Pope’s first top-10 prospect that he’s earned a commitment from.

Hailing from Rockwall, Texas, Hampton recently took an official visit to campus with his family, which began on Friday, June 5 and spilled into Sunday, June 7, his commitment day.

The five-star wing averaged 21.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game during the most recent EYBL Circuit, playing for LivOn and Nightrydas.

Hampton was the first recruit in the 2027 to officially visit with the Wildcats, and now he’s the first to call their shot early and choose the blue and white.

Pope has signed Milan Momcilovic, the No. 2 ranked transfer, and Hampton, his first top-10 high school prospect just in the past week.

It’s been a crazy week for recruiting, with the narrative around Pope’s ability slowing fading as the top guys continue to be attracted to the Kentucky brand.

BB Recruiting

Fast Riser Big Man Yann Kamagate Receives Scholarship Offer From Kentucky

Published

1 month ago

May 18, 2026

Tristan Pharis

Fresh off the first live recruiting period of the offseason, Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats have extended their first scholarship offer of the 2028 class.

Yann Kamagate, a prospect who went from unranked to the top five in 247Sports’ most recent recruiting rankings, received an offer from the Wildcats, he confirmed to KY Insider on Monday.

“Not everyone gets the chance to be seen by greatness,” Kamagate told KY Insider. “I’m grateful for the offer from Kentucky.”

Kentucky assistant coach Mikhail McLean, who works with the Wildcats’ big men and their development, watched Kamagate first-hand this past weekend in the Adidas 3SSB circuit in Mishawaka, Indiana.

The 7-foot big man was the talk of the weekend, displaying a high motor, extreme athleticism — a reported 7-9 winspam — and great feel for the game. On the circuit, he is averaging 13.9 points, a circuit-leading 10.4 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game.

Originally from the West African country of Burkina Faso, Kamagate moved to the United States just a year ago and has only been playing basketball for three years. Now, he is challenging for the top spot in the 2028 class.

He is currently represented by former NBA player and UCLA star Luc Mbah a Moute. Which is relevant as he is currently playing for the California Adidas team, Compton Magic, and attends La Cañada Flintridge (Calif.) St. Francis.

The offer is the latest signal that Mark Pope’s staff is casting a wide and aggressive net this offseason, and targeting players whose trajectories are trending sharply upward. Kamagate fits that profile exactly.