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KY Insider: Basketball Recruiting Update

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The 2019 class is nearly complete, however, Kentucky’s recruiting class could look much different as soon as the end of May. Kentucky is on three of the highest ranked recruits remaining including top-10 recruits Jaden McDaniels and RJ Hampton, and four star scoring wing Johnny Juzang. Let’s take a look at the latest developments!

Jaden McDaniels

Jaden McDaniels has one of the highest upsides and is one of the most offensively talented players in the 2019 class. Ranked as the overall No.8 recruit in the 2019 class, McDaniels is one of two players in the top 10 not to make a decision.

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Two weeks ago McDaniels was considered to be a near lock to stay out west and choose Washington or San Diego State, but things have changed quickly and rumors have it that Kentucky is now the favorite.

McDaniels and his camp have have been very quiet regarding his recruitment, and with more rumors and information coming out it appears that McDaniels is nearing his decision.

Recruiting guru, Evan Daniels, logged his prediction for the Wildcats on Wednesday and gives me more confidence that McDaniels will be a Wildcat next year.

Early in his recruitment, McDaniels called Kentucky his “dream school” and is chooses to come to Lexington he would be Kentucky’s highest ranked commit since De’Aron Fox.

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Johnny Juzang

Kentucky’s recruitment of Johnny Juzang has been hot and heavy over the past month and is now set to make a decision.

On April 19th, Juzang received a scholarship offer following a visit from John Calipari and Joel Justus. On April 29th, Juzang took an official visit to Lexington and sources say it went “great”. Based off of the timing of events and a prediction from Evan Daniels, Kentucky seams to be the heavy favorite.

At 6-6, 200 pounds, Juzang is a four star wing that can straight up score and has previously been called a “bucket” (sounds pretty familiar). Juzang’s scoring and shooting ability would be a welcome sight as that appears to be a weakness of next years team.

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RJ Hampton

After making the decision to reclassify to the 2019 class, RJ Hampton is the highest ranked recruit yet to decide and Kentucky is trending up for the 6-5 point guard as he plans to make a decision at the end of the month.

This allows Hampton to see who returns and who leaves as he makes his final decision.

In recruiting insider,Corey Evans’ weekly Q&A, he said that Kentucky has “picked up some ground.”

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Kentucky has picked up some ground in recent weeks. I still believe that Kansas will be where Hampton plays his lone year of college, as the numbers in the backcourt hurt UK some, but the Wildcats’ recent pitch and the platform that they can provide has piqued Hampton’s interest. 

It’s hard to see Hampton joining Kentucky’s loaded backcourt next season, but maybe he enjoys the competition. In the end, I expect Hampton to choose Kansas or Memphis where he would undoubtedly be the star guard.

If the Cats are able to secure two of the three players, they would seal the No.1 recruiting class for the first time since 2015, and would most likely set themselves up to be the most dominant team in college basketball alongside Michigan State.

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BB Recruiting

Kentucky Has Contacted Nation’s Leading Scorer, Four-Star Transfer Jaron Pierre Who Is “Definitely” Interested in the Cats

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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Kentucky Receives First Transfer Commitment From Top 25 Prospect, “Not Many People Get Opportunities Like This”

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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.

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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.”

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Kentucky Named a Finalist for Five Star, Top 5 NBA Prospect Nate Ament

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

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