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Why Antonio Reeves Is a Good Fit at Kentucky

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UK Athletics

Following Tuesday’s reports that Antonio Reeves could delay his decision to May 10th-15th, the transfer from Illinois State surprised the Big Blue Nation on Wednesday as he announced his commitment to Kentucky.

Reeves’ decision conveniently came just hours after the NBA confirmed Shaedon Sharpe’s eligibility for the 2022 NBA Draft, so take that for what you will.

With that being said, Kentucky is receiving one of the best scorers available in the transfer portal in Reeves, and we will discuss why he is such a good fit at Kentucky.

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Fills a position of need

Despite bringing back the unanimous national player of the year, a Bob Cousy finalist point guard, and bringing in two McDonald’s All-American freshmen, there is not a pure scorer, which is where Reeves comes in.

Losing two players of a similar mold, Davion Mintz and Kellan Grady to graduation, Kentucky is in need of shooting and scoring, and Reeves most certainly brings that. Last season, Reeves averaged 20.1 points, and did so efficiently, doing so on a usage rate of 28.6% and while shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 39 percent from 3-point range, and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Unlike Mintz or Grady, Reeves is a better all-around scorer and has shown that he can provide scoring as more than a spot-up shooter.

He is a bucket getter

One of Kentucky’s biggest weaknesses in recent years has been scoring within the half-court offense. Just last season, Kentucky was rated just slightly above average in shots taken in the last 4 seconds of the shot clock, (62nd percentile).

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That weakness is a strength of Reeves’, as last season he ranked in the 88th percentile nationally in late clock situations, and received an “excellent” grade by Synergy. In addition, Reeves earned the same grade as an overall offensive player, pick-and-roll ball-handler, jump shooter off the dribble, and isolation scorer.

What does this mean? In short, Reeves can get you a bucket when it’s needed most.

Veteran leadership and his “Chicago mindset”

In an interview with The Athletic’s Kyle Tucker, Reeves talked about what he can bring to Kentucky, saying, “With the experience I have in college, I can be a leader. I can be one of the guys who helps the younger players to understand how to play, what their role is, teach them the pace of the game. And just that Chicago mindset, being gritty and giving it all I got.”

As the current roster stands, Reeves will come in having scored more points in college basketball than anyone else on the team (1,195). While the level of competition hasn’t been the same, Reeves has scored 17 against Ohio State and 25 against a Big-Ten winning Wisconsin team in hislast two matchups against Power Five teams. His experience and scoring ability will bring much-needed stability to the backcourt next season.

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Coming out of high school, Reeves was not a highly recruited player nor has he yet to prove that he can play on college basketball’s biggest stage. However, he will bring his Chicago toughness and will fight to help Kentucky towards the goal of a national championship.


A leader, a scorer, and a fighter. Kentucky got a good one folks.

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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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