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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 Earns Commitment From European Big Andrija Jelavic

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ABA League j.t.d./Dragana Stjepanovic

Earlier today, Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats received the commitment from Andrija Jelavic, a 6-foot-11 big from Croatia.

As first reported by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Jelavic is one of the most highly regarded European prospects that is taking his talent to the NCAA.

Soon to be 21 years old, Jelavic averaged 10.8 points per game on 60% shooting from the field to go along with 7.4 rebounds per game for Mega Superbet, the same club that NBA Champion and three-time MVP Nikola Jokic played for.

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As a shock to most, who were expecting Pope’s next commit to be a guard of some sorts, international players can now sign lucrative NIL deals. Kentucky, along with several of the elite colleges, are now in the European market. 

Jelavic, with shades of current European big men, can do just about everything on the court. He can shoot, dribble, pass, finish at the rim, etc. With a very relevant comparison, Jelavic plays almost perfectly in the replacement role of Andrew Carr. 

His commitment now makes him the fifth member of Pope’s additions this offseason, joining Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe, Mouhamed Dioubate and Jayden Quaintance. 

With a 7’2” wingspan, joining an already impressive Kentucky frontcourt, it’s safe to say for certain that this new team will not lack in that department. 

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Next year’s roster was loaded with talent already, but now with the addition of Jelavic, lots of questions are arising: Who will start? How many more players is Pope going to add? What will happen with the walk-ons? 

There’s plenty to think about for Pope and his staff before the season starts, but like he said back when he introduced himself to Big Blue Nation, “We’re here to win banners.” He’s going to make the moves he thinks will do just that for the Wildcats. 

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Four-Star Guard Acaden Lewis Suddenly Decommits from Kentucky

Amidst a recent wave of positive recruiting news for Kentucky, the surprising decommitment of Acaden Lewis is an unfortunate wrench.

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2025 four-star point guard prospect Acaden Lewis has decommited from Kentucky.
UK Athletics

In a shocking, late at night turn of events, four-star freshman Acaden Lewis has decommitted from Kentucky.

Lewis, a 6’3” point guard out of Washington, D.C. first committed to the blue and white in November of last year, following an in-person visit with Mark Pope in his hometown.

Since then, he’s made multiple appearances in Rupp Arena, been featured in photo shoots with his fellow incoming recruits, and spoken on multiple occasions about his excitement to join the team for the 2025-26’ season.

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To say this development is surprising would be a serious understatement.

Lewis released a statement following the announcement, “This was an incredibly difficult decision, but I have to do what’s best for my future,” he said. “Thank you to Coach Pope and the whole Kentucky staff for all they’ve done for me so far.”

While the loss of Lewis is certainly disappointing, there is still much to look forward to next season for Kentucky, who maintain one of the highest rated transfer classes in the nation – and it likely isn’t finished.

To that point, if any reason can be derived immediately for Lewis’ decommitment, it may be found in the same place that Mark Pope and staff will be going to look for answers: the transfer portal.

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Top 10 Transfer Prospect, Former Wildcat Recruit Jayden Quaintance Commits to Kentucky

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2024 five-star big man Jayden Quaintance has commmitted to play basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats
UK Athletics

Two days into the week and two booms for the Kentucky Wildcats as Jayden Quaintance announced his commitment to Kentucky on Tuesday morning.

If the Quaintance name sounds familiar, it should. He was originally committed to play for the Cats out of high school last season as a five-star recruit. While he was interested in staying at Kentucky following John Calipari’s departure, even meeting with Mark Pope, he elected to play for Arizona State.

In his one season with the Sun Devils, Quaintance averaged 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 2.6 BPG, and earned Big 12 All-Freshman and All-Defensive honors.

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The one concern for Quaintance is that he had surgery to repair a torn ACL, which could keep him out for the entire offseason and potentially into the season. That said, the expectation for a return is September, and at just 17 years old, there is so much untapped potential.

Get to know the newest Wildcat commit!

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