Ex-Cat Aaron Bradshaw is now at Ohio State. What’s happened since his transfer from UK?
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Preview: No. 4 Kentucky vs. Ohio State
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Ohio State game at the CBS Sports Classic in New York.
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For the first time during the 2024-25 season, the Kentucky men’s basketball program could be facing an ex-Cat on the hardwood.
It’s a feeling that Kentucky basketball fans should get used to.
There are 14 former UK basketball scholarship players still in college basketball this season, playing elsewhere after spending part of their college careers with the Cats.
In the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday evening, UK could be facing one for the first time in the Mark Pope coaching era.
Aaron Bradshaw — the 7-foot-1 forward from New Jersey who was the second-highest ranked recruit (per the 247Sports Composite) in Kentucky’s 2023 freshman class — is now on the Ohio State team that will face UK on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Bradshaw committed to Kentucky during the 2022 Big Blue Madness event and arrived in Lexington last year as a top-five national recruit with legit NBA lottery pick potential. Unfortunately for both Bradshaw and the Wildcats, that potential was not realized as part of John Calipari’s final UK team.
After an offseason and preseason filled with questions related to a foot injury, Bradshaw made his college debut in the eighth game of Kentucky’s 2023-24 season, an embarrassing home loss to UNC Wilmington.
While Bradshaw posted a double-double in UK’s next contest — a win over Penn in Philadelphia — that proved to be the high-water mark of his time as a Wildcat.
Bradshaw finished last season with per-game averages of 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds at UK, and he played less than four minutes in Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament first-round loss to Oakland.
In search of a fresh start, Bradshaw was one of seven scholarship players who transferred out of the UK program during the offseason.
Bradshaw hit the transfer portal on April 8, before committing to Ohio State and first-year head coach Jake Diebler one week later on April 15. Calipari officially left UK on April 9 and Kentucky appointed Pope as the program’s next head coach on April 12.
How have things gone for Bradshaw at his new school?
It’s complicated.
Bradshaw has played in four of Ohio State’s 11 games this season, starting all four of those contests. The ex-Cat has per-game averages of 7.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.
On the surface, that appears solid enough. But there’s far more mystery behind the few months that Bradshaw has spent in Columbus.
Bradshaw hasn’t played for Ohio State since a Nov. 19 home win over Evansville. He played in OSU’s first four games of the season, and none since.
Following the Evansville game, Bradshaw was kept away from team activities while the school investigated a possible domestic incident at his off-campus apartment, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
Earlier this month, Diebler said during his weekly radio show that Bradshaw was back with the Buckeyes.
“Aaron is back with our team after the university concluded its process,” Diebler said according to Bucknuts, the 247Sports website that covers Ohio State. “Now, there’s going to be a return-to-play aspect that we’re going to have (to) start evaluating right away and there’s no firm timeline for what that looks like. But he will be back with our team. As far as anything regarding the process, we can’t comment further on the university’s process, but that’s the latest update.”
On Dec. 12, Diebler again said there was no specific timeline about when Bradshaw would return to game action for Ohio State.
“I think we’re still evaluating that,” Diebler said. “But he’s gotten a couple good workouts in. I think that’s kind of the extent of it right now.”
Since rejoining the team, Bradshaw hasn’t played in either of Ohio State’s two most recent games: A 91-53 blowout loss to No. 2 Auburn on Saturday in Atlanta and a 95-73 home win over Valparaiso on Tuesday.
Following that win over Valparaiso — which is Diebler’s alma mater — Diebler said Bradshaw is still building back toward being game ready.
“(He) wasn’t ready to go today. This is kind of an ongoing evaluation, really one day at a time,” Diebler said Tuesday of Bradshaw, who was in street clothes on the Ohio State bench for both the Auburn and Valparaiso games.
“There’s a level that he needs to play at and practice reps that he’s got to get at to where he’s able to get out there and certainly play well for him, but also for us,” Diebler added. “I just wish I could say, ‘Yeah. Hey, it’s a this-day thing.’ … Our whole performance team, it’s all hands on deck. Believe me, it would help us if we had this exact timeline or time frame, but it really is a day-to-day thing right now. He’s working to do it and we’re seeing progress, that’s the encouraging part.”
When speaking to the media Thursday, Diebler again failed to specify whether or not Bradshaw would be available to play for Ohio State against Kentucky.
“It’s not a clear answer yet on his availability,” Diebler said.
Ohio State basketball is without several players entering Kentucky game
Bradshaw is one of several Ohio State players who are out of action.
The most noteworthy absence for Ohio State is fifth-year guard Meechie Johnson, who previously spent his first two college seasons at Ohio State before spending the last two seasons at South Carolina.
Johnson had started all 10 of Ohio State’s games this season prior to missing Tuesday’s win over Valparaiso due to personal matters. After that game, Diebler said there was no timetable on Johnson’s return to the team.
In his 10 games this season, Johnson is averaging 9.1 points and 2.7 assists per game. Last season at South Carolina, Johnson averaged a team-high 14.1 points per contest for a Gamecocks team that was a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
In January, Johnson had 14 points for South Carolina in a blowout home win over Kentucky. In January 2023, Johnson had 26 points in Rupp Arena as South Carolina scored a stunning upset win over the Wildcats. South Carolina won only four SEC games that season.
In addition to the absences of Bradshaw and Johnson, Ohio State is also without guard Ques Glover and forward Colin White.
Glover, a fifth-year guard who previously played at Florida and Samford, has missed eight straight games with an ankle injury. In three games off the bench this season, Glover is averaging just under four points per contest.
White, a freshman forward, has missed five straight games, also with an ankle injury. White is averaging 3.3 points and 1.5 rebounds.
Ohio State is led in scoring by 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Devin Royal, who is averaging more than 15 points per game. Royal had a career-high 31 points in Tuesday’s win over Valparaiso.
Kentucky basketball set to play against several ex-Cats this season
In addition to Bradshaw, several other former UK basketball players and recruits, or at least their teams, are slated to play Kentucky this season.
Those players, and games, are as follows:
▪ Kentucky at Georgia on Jan. 7 (former UK signee Somto Cyril, who was the first member of Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class).
▪ Kentucky vs. Arkansas on Feb. 1. (Zvonimir Ivisic, Adou Thiero, D.J. Wagner and former UK walk-on Kareem Watkins, along with ex-UK coach John Calipari).
Calipari’s first Arkansas team also includes ex-UK recruits Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond.
▪ Kentucky vs. LSU on March 4 (Daimion Collins)
Earlier this month, UK defeated Gonzaga in a thrilling comeback win in overtime in Seattle. Former Kentucky signee Nolan Hickman — a true senior guard — played against the Cats for a third straight season in that one.
Hickman had nine points in 38 minutes for Gonzaga in the loss.
Saturday
No. 4 Kentucky vs. Ohio State
What: CBS Sports Classic
Where: Madison Square Garden in New York City
When: 5:30 p.m.
TV: CBS
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 10-1, Ohio State 7-4
Series: Kentucky leads 11-10
Last meeting: Ohio State won 71-65 on Dec. 21, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 6:45 AM.
