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Former Cat Cam’Ron Fletcher Involved in NIL Lawsuit with Florida State Coach and Former Kentucky Coach Leonard Hamilton

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Former Kentucky assistant Leonard Hamilton is being sued by a group of former players over missed NIL payments.
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Of all the things that the new NIL (name, image, likeness) rules were supposed to bring to college basketball, legal disputes between former players and their coach was not one of them.

Yet that is exactly what’s happening at Florida State University, and among those players is former Wildcat Cam’Ron Fletcher.

Fletcher played for Kentucky during the unfortunately notorious 2020-21 season, where the Cats would finish 9-16 on the season, and 8-9 in the SEC. He played in nine games, averaging 1.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.6 steals per outing.

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More Money, More Problems

Along with Fletcher, five more athletes, Darin Green Jr., De’Ante Green, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears and Jalen Warley, officially filed suit on Monday, Dec. 30, against Coach Leonard Hamilton.

Hamilton, who remains at FSU, has led the Seminoles to a 9-4 start so far this season. He is being accused of shorting each of the six plaintiffs $250,000 in promised NIL payments. None of the athletes remain on the team this season, with Fletcher specifically transferring to Xavier.

The situation supposedly stretches back into last season, where, according to the lawsuit, the aforementioned athletes walked out of a practice and nearly boycotted a home matchup with the Duke Blue Devils, which they’d go on to lose, despite ultimately participating in the contest.

Allegedly, Hamilton promised the money by way of his “business partners.” The grievance includes interactions over text between multiple players, as well as some between players and Hamilton.

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FSU athletics released a statement regarding the incident, noting: “Upon learning recently of the allegations made by former men’s basketball athletes, the University has worked diligently to determine what transpired last season. Though our inquiry is not yet complete, at this point we know of no unfulfilled commitments by FSU in terms of scholarships or other appropriate benefits or the Rising Spear Collective relative to NIL payments owed to the athletes,” they said.

“We support Coach Hamilton’s right to defend himself against these allegations and look forward to an expeditious resolution of this matter.”

No attorney was listed for Hamilton in the lawsuit. He and the Seminoles are set to face Syracuse at home on Saturday, Jan. 4.

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BB Recruiting

Multiple Transfers Meet With Kentucky on Wednesday

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The transfer portal is active, and Zoom stock is going up as college coaches are video chatting around the clock to build their rosters, including Kentucky.

On Wednesday, Mark Pope and the Kentucky staff added three more names to the Zoom list.

Alex Wilkins (Guard, Furman), 4⭐️, 46th-ranked transfer

Class: Sophomore
Physicals: 6-5, 175 lbs
Last season averages: 17.8 PPG, 4.7 APG, 46% FG, 32.8% 3P

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An underrated prospect coming out of high school, Wilkins splashed on the scene this year at Furman. As a freshman, he led his team to the NCAA Tournament, averaging 17.8 points and 4.7 assists and earning second team All-SoCon honors.

There were few players as critical to their team’s success as Wilkins, leading the SoCon in possession usage (34.4%) and shot usage (31.7%). That does lend some explanation to his poor shooting splits and turnover concerns (3.8 turnovers per game).

A quick, wirey guard, Wilkins is a capable scorer at all three levels, and can create for his teammates. However, he needs to add some muscle for power conference competition, and needs to have more consistent effort on the defensive end.

A freshman, those are both correctable things.

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Isaac Celiscar (Forward, Yale), 4⭐️, 84th-ranked transfer

Class: Junior
Physicals: 6-6, 210 lbs
Last season averages: 13.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, 57.3% FG, 40.7% 3P

Isaac Celiscar is one of the most efficient, versatile players in the transfer portal.

The first takeaway, averaging 13.2 point per game with 57.3 percent shooting, he is extremely efficient on limited opportunities. Shooting nearly 41 percent from deep, he is a threat from deep as well. That efficiency carries over to his passing, as he averages more than three assists per game, on just 1.3 turnovers per game.

Celiscar grades out as a glue-guy with great offensive skills and good feel for the game, but he does have limitations in terms of his athleticism and shot creation.

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Jalen Cox (Guard, Colgate), 3⭐️ , 149th-ranked transfer

Class: Senior
Physicals: 6-3, 180 lbs
Last season averages: 17.9 PPG, 5.3 APG, 5.0 RPG, 52.1% FG, 36.5% 3P

Jalen Cox is the lowest ranked player Kentucky has reached out to, but the Wildcats need depth and Cox is a experienced guard with proven production.

Averaging 17.9 points and 5.3 assists (2.0+ assist-to-turnover ratio) per game on 52 percent shooting from the field, Cox is a versatile and efficient offensive player. He has also multiple conference All-Defense selections too, making him a two way player.

The biggest concern with Cox is his athletic ceiling and how that translates to power conference competition. However an experienced two way player is a great rotation piece.

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BB Recruiting

Top Five Transfer Paulius Murauskas Moves Up Call, Talks With Kentucky on Wednesday

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Kentucky met with Saint Mary's transfer Paulius Muruaskas, one of the top forwards in the transfer portal, on Wednesday and is looking to schedule a visit for him to come to Lexington.
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Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats are as busy as anyone in the transfer portal. On Wednesday, they met with their biggest fish of this transfer portal cycle so far, Paulius Murauskas.

Originally scheduled for Thursday, the Wildcats met with Murauskas via Zoom video call on Wednesday, per source.

Currently ranked 4th overall in 247Sports transfer rankings, the top-ranked forward, Murauskas is the prototypical modern basketball player. Good size at 6-foot-8, 235 pounds, with the ability to create for himself and others, has a good handle, and overall good feel for the game.

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Murauskas started his collegiate career at Arizona after some professional experience in Lithuania. Playing just five minutes per game with the Wildcats as a freshman, Murauskas transferred to Saint Mary’s, where he has flourished and earned All-Conference honors the last two seasons.

This past season, Murauskas averaged 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds, on 48.2 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from deep. As for his weaknesses, he is not super athletic, and he does need to be more consistent with his shot.

Originally thought to follow former Saint Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett to Arizona State, Murauskas is exploring all options. Following the Zoom, Kentucky is trying to get him on campus for a visit in the near future.

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Top 20 Transfer Donnie Freeman Meets With Kentucky on Wednesday

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The Kentucky basketball staff is meeting with Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman on Wednesday, a top 20 player in the transfer portal.
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The transfer portal has been open for less than 48 hours, but one name that has been consistently linked to Kentucky has been Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman, even going back before the portal officially opened.

Currently ranked 16th overall in this year’s portal class, the fifth-ranked forward, Freeman had a Zoom video call with Kentucky on Wednesday afternoon.

Playing for the Bahamas National Team in the 2024 Olympic Qualifying tournament, Freeman also has a connection to Kentucky assistant coach Mikhail McLean, who was an associate head coach for the team.

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One of the bigger names in the portal and for good reason, a top-15 player, McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school, Freeman has been a big impact player through two seasons with the Orange. This past season, he averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds, on 47.4 percent shooting from the field and 30.2 percent shooting from deep.

Freeman will have NBA eyes on him wherever he goes. Physically, he has the size and athleticism. That allows him to be versatile on defense, capable of defending multiple positions; having the speed to defend smaller players, and length to affect shots in the paint.

Offensively, his physical tools help him excel in transition and as a slasher, having good touch around the rim. Shooting 30+ percent from deep through two seasons, enough to keep defenses honest, his shot is inconsistent and has a slight hitch in mechanics. Though the biggest area of concern is his struggle with turnovers, having a negative assist-to-turnover ratio in both collegiate seasons.

It’s also worth noting that Freeman has suffered right foot injuries in back-to-back seasons, sidelining him for 28 games total.

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Freeman has the physical tools and skills to be an first round draft pick, but needs some refinement, and Kentucky is interested.

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