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Top Basketball Recruits Visiting Kentucky This Weekend

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Kentucky and Kansas are the two most winningest programs in college basketball history, and any time they play each other it’s going to be a big-time game. On Saturday, the two teams will face off for the 35th time, with Kentucky holding an overwhelming 24-10 advantage.

With a motivated team and excited fanbase, the Rupp Arena atmosphere will be one of the best this season, if not the best. This makes it a perfect opportunity to show the best of the program and Kentucky will have three top recruits making visits.

Let’s check them out!

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Rob Dillingham (2023, No. 9 Overall, No. 1 PG)

The lone Kentucky signee, Rob Dillingham is a part of a stacked 2023 recruiting class that includes Aaron Bradshaw, DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, and Reed Sheppard. He is the No. 2 ranked point guard in the class behind, only behind Wagner (247Sports).

With a slim 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame, Dillingham is one of the most electrifying and most talented guards in the 2023 class. Currently playing for Overtime Elite, he is averaging 13.3 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.6 rebounds.

Unfortunately, playing for Overtime Elite, Dillingham does not meet all the criteria to be selected as a McDonald’s All-American, specifically the following: “Attends and participates in a high school program that has ONE eligible varsity team and is a member of a high school athletic conference or league.”

It is worth noting, that despite signing his National Letter of Intent, there have been rumors of Dillingham not actually coming to Kentucky. While his recruitment has been unique, I believe that is unlikely. His visit on Saturday should add confidence to that.

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Tre Johnson (2024, No. 1 Overall, No. 1 SG)

Tre Johnson, the No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class (247Sports), would be a huge get for Kentucky to make a splash after missing out on Ian Jackson. A 6-foot-5, 180-pound combo guard out of Texas playing for Lake Highlands High School and is an elite playmaker that can do just about everything, but is an elite shooter.

Johnson’s recruitment is spearheaded by UK’s newest assistant K.T. Turner, known for his recruiting ties in Texas, and even ties to the Johnson family themselves. Tre’s father, told the Lexington Herald-Leader back in August that Turner has “always been a good friend,” and “He [Turner] reaches out to Tre every other day or so.”

While Kentucky is in a good position, Johnson says he is “open to anywhere”. Having already taken visits to Texas and Baylor, Kentucky will be his third with more coming including Arkansas, North Carolina, and Duke. With that said, the professional routes will be a contender to land Johnson’s services.

Jasper Johnson (2025, No. 26 Overall, No. 4 CG)

Ranked as the No. 1 sophomore in Kentucky, and a top-30 prospect in the country overall, Jasper Johnson is receiving interest from top schools around the country such as Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, and Tennessee.

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Standing 6-foot-2, 165 pounds, Johnson is still growing into his frame, but possesses great length which allows him to be active in the passing lanes. On the offensive side, he possesses a smooth jump shot and some surprising explosiveness.

Jasper grew up a Kentucky fan as his father, Dennis Johnson, was an All-SEC defensive end for the Kentucky football team. However, he would like to hear more from the Wildcats, which will likely happen this spring if he sustains his high level of play. It is promising that he is taking a visit now.

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2024 5-Star Wing Karter Knox Commits To Kentucky

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2024 five-star prospect, Karter Knox commits to the Kentucky Wildcats.
Adam Hagy | Overtime Elite

Over the weekend, Kentucky not only got a Top 5 road win against Tennessee, or be featured in Drake’s concert at Rupp Arena, but they also received a 2024 commitment from a five-star recruit.

Karter Knox, a top-20 player in the 2024 class, and brother of former Wildcat Kevin Knox, announced his commitment to Kentucky on Saturday. Karter committed to Kentucky over South Florida, Louisville, and a return to Overtime Elite, with the latter two being seen as the most likely destination until nearly the very end.

Why Kentucky? “Coach Calipari has sent a lot of people to the league and I want to be a pro,” Knox said after his commitment. “He told me he’s going to make me a pro. I’m ready to hoop and win a national championship.”

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Knox joins five-star prospects Jayden Quaintance, Boogie Fland, and Somto Cyril, and four-stars Travis Perry and Billy Richmond in Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class. Together, Kentucky’s class now ranks 2nd in the nation, behind Duke.

Don’t think that Knox will be Kentucky’s last take in the class as there are murmurs of 2024 decomitmments and 2025 reclassifications including Darryn Peterson, Jasper Johnson, and most recently, Joson Sanon.

Scouting Report

Per 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein.

Karter Knox is a true three-range scorer on the wing. He’s not quite as big as advertised, but he compensates with long arms, a naturally strong build, soft hands, good timing in a variety of different circumstances, and a versatile skill-set.

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While he’s a shooting threat from three with a soft natural ball and compact release, and even capable of making some threes on the move, he’s proven to be most efficient inside the arc to this point in his career.

He has very good perimeter footwork, can attack to either side off the dribble without wasting much motion, and plays through contact while doing so. He is a consistent pull-up threat in the mid-range area and showing an increased willingness to punish smaller defenders in the post. He’s shown flashes of passing ability and unselfishness, and is also a quality rebounder on the wing.

Defensively, he’s not the most laterally quick, but has enough size and length to be effective. The key is being consistently locked in though as he has times, particularly with his high school team, where he’s shown less sense of urgency on that end of the floor.

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2025 No. 1 Point Guard Darius Acuff Updates Recruitment, Talks About Kentucky Wanting Him to Be A Leader

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Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Darius Acuff, the No. 9 player and No. 1 point guard in the 2025 class, is one of Kentucky’s biggest recruiting targets in the class. While he has yet to drop a top list, Kentucky is believed to be in a really good position.

With his recruitment about to ramp up this spring, Acuff spoke with On3 to update his recruitment and discuss the two official visits he took last fall, one of which was to Kentucky for Big Blue Madness.

“It was lit down there,” he told On3. “I went down for Big Blue Madness. They’re a great school and have put a lot of players in the league. I’ve been doing my research on all the schools and I’ve seen all the guards they’ve had. They play my style of play and let their guards make plays. Their facilities were big and they definitely showed a lot of love when I was there. It was a great school.”

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During another interview with 247Sports, Acuff provided some insight into what the staff talked about during his visit.

“On the visit they told me to watch DJ Wagner and see how he talks and his leadership as the point guard of the team,” Acuff said. “They’d want to play my game if I were to go there, get to the next level and be a leader. Most of our conversations was about being a leader 24/7 because the team will go how you go.”

Kentucky recruiting Acuff as a leader suggests that the staff envisions him to be a key piece for the 2025 class, leading the team as the point guard.

Acuff’s lone other visit was to his home state school of Michigan, but he is looking to take more over the coming weeks and months, to Kansas (March 5th), Texas, Houston, Georgia Tech, and others.

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What is Acuff looking for in a school? “I’m going to be looking for a program and a coach that is going to let me do me and let me rock out,” he says. “I want to play with a coach who is going to teach me right from wrong and be there to support me. I’ve thought some about the pro stuff, I want to go to college though. Yeah, college for sure.”

John Calipari will let a player “rock out” if they prove themself to be good enough, just look at Rob Dillingham this season. That said, a proven three-level scorer, Acuff put up the fourth-highest point average in Nike’s EYBL last season.

For Kentucky, this is a positive update and certainly a recruitment to watch.

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Kentucky Expressing Interest In 2025 Kiyan Anthony, Son of Former NBA Star Carmelo Anthony

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Kentucky is showing interest in Kiyan Anthony, the son of former NBA star Carmelo Anthony.
Nike EYBL/Team Melo

Kentucky has been expressing interest in the son of former NBA star Carmelo Anthony, Kiyan Anthony. While he has the nation’s attention partly due to his father’s name, he is a top-40 player in the class of 2025.

Anthony played in the Marshall County Hoopfest in December, where the Kentucky staff was in attendance to check out 2024 Top-5 prospect VJ Edgecombe, who has since committed to Baylor. While there, they were impressed enough to reach out to Kiyan, who recently spoke with On3 to discuss his new Kentucky interests among other topics.

“I recently started to talk to Kentucky because they’ve been at our games and practices because of my teammate, VJ (Edgecombe). So I guess they were really impressed in practice and stuff,” Anthony said. He spoke with the Kentucky staff after his game in Marshall County, he said.

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He had some pretty good praise for Kentucky when he talked about his thoughts on the program. “I feel like Kentucky is top-tier when it comes to getting people to the league and just winning,” Anthony said. “Coach Cal, he’s not going to show any mercy. He really pushes his players to the max. Some people aren’t built for it, but I feel like the ones that are, they really take that next step and get to the league or get where they need to go.”

It needs to be noted that Kentucky has yet to extend an offer, but Anthony says, “The coaches over there are texting me, telling me to keep working. When they come to practice they say how I’m getting a lot better and they have their eyes on me.”

John Calipari has never been keen on the extra stuff that comes with having the son of a former NBA star (i.e. Bronny James) on his team, but could Kiyan be an exception? Time will tell, but at this moment it doesn’t seem likely.

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