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Men's Basketball

Tyrese Maxey on Playing for John Calipari at Kentucky, “I Wanted to Play for Him So Bad”

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Kentucky Wildcats coach John Calipari greets former player Tyrese Maxey after Philadelphia 76ers game.
Philadelphia 76ers

Given the name brand Kentucky basketball is, it’s not uncommon to hear top recruits call Kentucky their “dream school”, however, that doesn’t always equate to a commitment. With that said, that was the case for former Wildcat Tyrese Maxey. Last week, Maxey went on The Old Man & The Three podcast with former NBA guard and now analyst, JJ Reddick, and spoke on his recruitment and one season at Kentucky.

Why did Maxey pick Kentucky? Given the success of former Kentucky guards in the NBA, Reddick asked Maxey if John Calipari had shown him a list of names to help convince him to commit. “He didn’t have to show me the list, I knew who the list was,” Maxey responded.

“I had on my goal list, before he came to my house, ‘Get an offer from Kentucky’… That was my goal. I wanted to play for Coach Cal since Derrick Rose. I seen John Wall, Brandon Knight, De’Aaron Fox… I wanted to play for him so bad.”

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Maxey accomplished his goal of playing under Calipari and it paid off. In one season in Lexington, he followed suit of Cal’s guards as he averaged an impressive 14 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the 21st pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.

Looking back at his time at Kentucky and being coached under Calipari, Reddick asked Maxey to describe the Hall of Fame coach with one word. To which he responded with, “passionate”.

“I’m not gonna use insane, I’m gonna use passionate,” Maxey said. “He’s passionate about recruiting, winning, and his kids getting to the next level and fulfilling their dreams. Not a lot of coaches are passionate about that… That means a lot as an 18-19 year old kid. You don’t know what those family backgrounds are.”

People have and will criticize Calipari for having won just one title with all of the NBA talent he has coached. However, he has transformed many player’s lives over the course of his 40+ year coaching career, and that is a large reason why players want to play for him. Just at Kentucky, his players have gone on to earn over $4 BILLION in NBA contracts alone.

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The entire podcast can be listened to below.

Men's Basketball

Otega Oweh Declares for NBA Draft, Maintains College Eligibility

Arguably the centerpiece of last year’s team, Otega Oweh has declared for the NBA Draft… but that doesn’t mean he’s officially gone.

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Otega Oweh declares for the NBA Draft whilst maintaining his college eligibility.
Chet White | UK Athletics

Few players have taken the Big Blue Nation by storm like Otega Oweh did with his arrival this past season. A lot was new in Lexington last year, but #00 stuck out for a number of reasons; namely, his infectious energy on the court and the high odds that he was going to put an opponent on a poster on any given night.

Now, Oweh has declared for the NBA Draft. He made the announcement on social media, calling Kentucky fans the “best fans in the world.”

While this may seem dire for folks keeping tabs on next year’s roster, that last line in Oweh’s announcement is crucial: “…while maintaining my NCAA eligibility.” Essentially, Otega’s time in Lexington is far from over, at least for the time being.

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Whether or not “Tegatron” returns to Rupp will likely depend on what he hears during the draft process, and where exactly he wants to land. In the modern college basketball landscape, it’s become common practice for players to “test the waters” in the draft, just to get an idea as to where they stand with the league, before returning to college for another year of development.

Take, for example, Jaxson Robinson just last season. Before his eventual transfer to Kentucky, Robinson declared for the draft out of BYU, maintaining his eligibility, before pulling from the process in order to spend his senior year at Kentucky. It happens all the time.

While that doesn’t necessarily set Oweh’s return in stone, it at least gives the Big Blue Nation to take a breather and keep calm, as his departure is far from official. Either way, #00 is a Lexington legend whose first go-around in Kentucky blue was as memorable as anyone’s could be. The “Oweh, Oweh, Oweh” chants will go on regardless.

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Men's Basketball

Four Star Forward Visiting Kentucky Amidst Recruitment Rumors

Mark Pope is looking to close out a strong sophomore effort in the transfer portal, and this freshman guard may be the final piece.

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Four star guard Braydon Hawthorne is on a visit to Kentucky.
Braydon Hawthorne | WVU Athletics

As the transfer portal trucks on (and the NCAA races to find ways to regulate it), Mark Pope is looking to tie a bow on his already highly-ranked 2025-26′ roster. The latest potential addition becomes in the form of a freshman who, after pulling his commitment from West Virginia, will be on an official visit to Kentucky today, Wednesday, April 16.

Braydon Hawthorne, the 6’8″ forward at hand, is a lengthy, scoring wing with high upside on the offensive end. His 7’3″ wingspan opens opportunities for development on the defensive end, too – he’s an investment opportunity of the highest order. On3 currently has him at 48th on their ranking of 2025 recruits.

In addition to Kentucky and West Virginia (where Hawthorne is from), schools such as Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Marquette, Dayton, Old Dominion, Mount St. Mary’s, and more have thrown their hats into the ring, although the general consensus seems to be that Kentucky has the strongest pull/interest in the prospect for the time being.

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Whether or not that actually means he’ll be in blue and white is unfortunately unsure – as that’s how the transfer portal operates – but an in-person visit is a good indicator of mutual interest. Plus, with Kentucky “losing out” on Lamar Wilkerson, who committed to Indiana, a scoring spot in the back court remains open… and Hawthorne is a compelling candidate to fill it.

While Wildcats fans wait patiently for a potential commitment, all eyes are on Coach Cody Fueger’s X account for a trademark “boom” post.

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Men's Basketball

Brandon Garrison Announces Return To Kentucky For The 2025-26 Season

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Chet White | UK Athletics

Brandon Garrison isn’t going anywhere. 

The 6-foot-10 forward will be returning to the Kentucky Wildcats for his junior season in the 2025-26 campaign. 

Garrison took to social media first, posting a story on his personal Instagram that showed a simple graphic reading the words “I’m back.”

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Speculation and rumors have swirled around the Oklahoma native all offseason, and with the addition of Andrija Jelavic, Big Blue Nation worried that Garrison would be hitting the portal sooner than later. 

Now, with his returning announcement public, Garrison will look to assert himself in the offseason as a dominant force that deserves the starting role.

Last season, he backed up Amari Williams, coming off of the bench and averaging 5.9 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game in just 17.3 minutes a night. 

It’s unclear if he’s guaranteed anything in regards to a starting spot. However, having played a year already in Mark Pope’s system, Garrison may get a nod for the role over one of the transfer pickups. 

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Pope and the coaching staff have been publicly confident in the development of “BG” and see him as a vocal leader on and off the court. 

With a full offseason ahead where he’ll be harnessing his skill set and bettering his game in any way possible, Kentucky fans will be glad that Garrison chose to stick around another year. 

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