Live updates: Kentucky basketball begins recruiting period by visiting Bradshaw, Wagner
Starting Friday, the NCAA Division I men’s basketball recruiting calendar shifted from a quiet period to a recruiting period.
A quiet period is defined as a “period of time when it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution’s campus. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts or evaluations may be made.”
A recruiting period is defined as when “authorized athletics department staff may make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations.”
This means the likes of John Calipari — along with associate to the head coach Bruiser Flint and assistant coaches Orlando Antigua, Chin Coleman and K.T. Turner — are expected to make plenty of visits in the coming days to Kentucky’s biggest recruiting targets in upcoming classes, as well as solidify commitments from current UK pledges.
Below is an updating tracker of where Kentucky’s coaching staff has been spotted since the recruiting period began Friday, and which players UK has visited.
Tracker lists the most recent visits by the UK coaching staff at the top
Dink Pate to take unofficial visit to Kentucky for Big Blue Madness
Monday 11:44 p.m.
Class of 2024 shooting guard Dink Pate plans to take an unofficial visit to Kentucky for Big Blue Madness in the fall according to Travis Graf, who covers recruiting nationally for Rivals.
Pate was one of several North Texas basketball recruits visited by Kentucky on Monday. UK head coach John Calipari and UK assistant coaches Chin Coleman and K.T. Turner were all in to see Pate on Monday morning.
The expected date for Big Blue Madness in Rupp Arena is Oct. 14, but that has not been announced or finalized yet. UK is also still working on the logistics of a possible return of the Madness campout, which Calipari said this summer that he wanted back after a two-year hiatus.
Kentucky makes the cut for Class of 2023 power forward
Monday 7:06 p.m.
Kentucky basketball has made the cut for four-star Class of 2023 power forward Eric Dailey Jr. out of IMG Academy in Florida.
On Monday night, Dailey released an updated recruiting list of eight schools, in addition to potential pro opportunities.
The eight schools to make the cut were Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas A&M.
Dailey (6-7, 215 lbs.) is ranked as the No. 54 player overall in the Class of 2023 by the 247Sports Composite and the No. 11 power forward in the class.
Kentucky has not yet extended a scholarship offer to Dailey, who also hasn’t taken any official visits yet. According to On3’s Joe Tipton, Kentucky will visit Dailey on Wednesday.
Dailey was originally a member of the 2022 recruiting class, before reclassifying to the 2023 recruiting class last April.
Kentucky makes New York City recruiting trip
Monday 5:21 p.m.
After spending time in New Jersey to kick off the college basketball recruiting period on Friday by visiting Aaron Bradshaw and DJ Wagner, Kentucky has moved across the Hudson River to New York City to check out more talented basketball recruits.
UK was among several high-major schools, including Louisville, at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York, (an outer suburb of NYC) on Monday, according to Pro Insight Basketball Director of Scouting Andrew Slater.
Among the players that Stepinac has is Class of 2024 point guard Boogie Fland, a magnetic five-star recruit that is ranked as the No. 13 player overall in the class by 247Sports.
Fland received a scholarship offer from Kentucky in July.
Kentucky to visit another Overtime Elite player Tuesday
Monday 1:47 p.m.
In addition to watching the No. 1 ranked player in the Class of 2024 — Naas Cunningham — on Tuesday at Overtime Elite, Kentucky is planning to watch another top recruit in the Class of 2024 on the same day at the same program.
UK is expected to visit Class of 2024 small forward Jahki Howard, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.
Howard is ranked as the No. 29 overall player in the Class of 2024 by the 247Sports Composite.
Auburn and Indiana spent Monday visiting Howard, who doesn’t have a Kentucky offer, at Overtime Elite in Atlanta.
UK plans to visit first Class of 2025 player with scholarship offer
Monday 12:09 p.m.
In late August, Kentucky had its first scholarship offer to a Class of 2025 player publicized.
Class of 2025 shooting guard Darryn Peterson reported an offer from the Wildcats, and now Kentucky is planning to visit the rising sophomore in person.
According to Travis Graf, who covers recruiting nationally for Rivals, several blue-blood college basketball programs are expected to visit Peterson in the near future.
The list includes Michigan State, North Carolina, UCLA and Virginia, in addition to Kentucky.
Peterson is ranked as the No. 4 player in his class by both ESPN and Rivals.
Graf has described Peterson as “an advanced shot creator and maker (that) can get scorching hot at the drop of a hat. He plays at a nice pace and has a terrific feel for the game on the offensive end. The five-star guard’s craftiness and pace are that of an upperclassman.”
UK continues North Texas recruiting blitz with Tre Johnson visit
Monday 12:01 p.m.
Monday has been earmarked as Kentucky’s day to visit its priority recruits in North Texas, and the Wildcats are taking full advantage.
Three of the top recruits on Kentucky’s board are expected to be visited by John Calipari and company today: Class of 2024 shooting guard Dink Pate, Class of 2023 power forward Ron Holland and Class of 2024 shooting guard Tre Johnson.
The Wildcats are expected to visit Johnson on Monday, with Calipari and assistant coaches Chin Coleman and K.T. Turner all expected to be in to see the player ranked No. 3 overall in his class by the 247Sports Composite.
This is the same trio of UK coaches that visited Pate on Monday morning.
Johnson, who received a Kentucky scholarship offer over the summer, has ties to former UK guard Tyrese Maxey.
The addition of Turner to the Kentucky coaching staff this offseason provided the Wildcats with a recruiter that has strong Texas connections, something UK hopes to leverage in recruiting battles for the likes of Holland, Johnson and Pate.
John Calipari to visit Ron Holland on Monday afternoon
Monday 11:05 a.m.
Kentucky will continue a late push for Class of 2023 power forward Ron Holland with a visit to the North Texas high school star on Monday afternoon, according to 247Sports national basketball recruiting analyst and scout Brandon Jenkins.
On Monday, both Kentucky head coach John Calipari and Texas head coach Chris Beard were expected to meet with Class of 2024 shooting guard Dink Pate, another North Texas prospect. Both Calipari and Beard are expected to also meet with Holland later in the day.
Holland has been a longtime Kentucky target. Holland’s list of his final five options for the next stage in his basketball career includes Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, UCLA and the NBA G-League Ignite program.
Arkansas has been viewed as the slight favorite to land Holland, but Holland visited Texas earlier this month and is a top in-state target for Beard.
Holland visited Kentucky over the summer, and received an expected scholarship offer from the Wildcats afterward.
Kentucky planning to visit top junior at Overtime Elite
Monday 10:47 a.m.
The No. 1 ranked player in the Class of 2024 will be receiving a visit from Kentucky on Tuesday, according to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.
Class of 2024 small forward Naas Cunningham — who is part of Overtime Elite — is receiving visits from Auburn, Florida and Indiana on Monday, with UK to follow on Tuesday.
Cunningham is not receiving a salary from Overtime Elite, which preserves his amateur eligibility after graduating from high school.
This means Cunningham can play college basketball if he chooses to.
Cunningham — the No. 1 ranked player in his class according to the 247Sports Composite — doesn’t yet hold a Kentucky offer.
Kentucky expected to visit five-star small forward from Georgia
Monday 10:23 a.m.
According to On3’s Joe Tipton, a laundry list of high-major programs are expected to visit Class of 2024 five-star small forward Airious “Ace” Bailey this week, including Kentucky.
Tipton reported Monday that Arkansas, Alabama, Auburn, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, LSU, South Carolina and others are expected to join Kentucky by visiting Bailey this week.
Bailey is ranked as the No. 11 player overall in the Class of 2024 by the 247Sports Composite and the No. 5 small forward in the class.
Bailey comes from a basketball family: His mother played at West Virginia and his aunt played in the WNBA and won an Olympic gold medal with the United States.
Kentucky, Texas to visit Class of 2024 shooting guard Monday
Monday 10:05 a.m.
Both Kentucky and Texas will be in North Texas on Monday morning to visit with Class of 2024 shooting guard Dink Pate, according to 247Sports national basketball recruiting analyst and scout Brandon Jenkins.
Jenkins tweeted Sunday night that Kentucky head coach John Calipari and Texas head coach Chris Beard will be visiting Pate, who is ranked as the No. 32 overall player in the Class of 2024 by the 247Sports Composite and is ranked as the No. 9 shooting guard in the class.
On Monday morning, Jenkins tweeted that the Wildcats went three deep for their visit to Pate: Calipari was joined by UK assistant coaches Chin Coleman and K.T. Turner.
Kentucky coaching staff visits pair of Hudson Catholic players
Sunday 2:35 p.m.
Kentucky continued its focus on New Jersey-based recruits to begin the current college basketball recruiting period with two coaches in to visit a pair of talented Hudson Catholic Regional High School players in Jersey City, New Jersey.
UK was in to see Class of 2024 four-star point guard Tahaad Pettiford and Class of 2023 four-star shooting guard Elijah Gertrude.
The Wildcats weren’t the only school in to see the duo though, with UCLA (including head coach Mick Cronin), Memphis, Auburn and St. Peter’s all also in the gym, according to Pro Insight Basketball Director of Scouting Andrew Slater.
Pettiford earned a Kentucky scholarship offer in July, while Gertrude doesn’t have a UK offer.
According to 247Sports, Pettiford plans to cut down his list of potential post-high school playing options midway through his junior season.
Kentucky to visit Dink Pate next week
Saturday 2:22 p.m.
Class of 2024 four-star shooting guard Dink Pate is expected to be visited by a litany of college basketball programs next week, including Kentucky.
According to Stockrisers, Pate will be visited by coaches from schools like Houston, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and Texas next week, among plenty of others.
Pate is ranked as the No. 32 overall player in the Class of 2024 by the 247Sports Composite and is ranked as the No. 9 shooting guard in the class.
Pate is another Texas-based recruit that should be the focus of new Kentucky assistant coach K.T. Turner, who has plenty of recruiting ties to Texas.
Kentucky expected to visit Asa Newell
Saturday 10:26 a.m.
Kentucky is expected to visit another promising future prospect who doesn’t yet hold a scholarship offer from the Wildcats.
Four-star power forward Asa Newell — a class of 2024 player from Florida’s Montverde Academy — is expected to be visited by UK staff members next week, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.
Newell (6-9, 205 pounds) holds offers from a host of high-major programs including Arkansas, Illinois and Indiana.
Newell is ranked as the No. 34 player overall in the class of 2024 by the 247Sports Composite and the No. 5 power forward in the class.
Newell was one of a host of Kentucky recruits to win a gold medal this summer playing with the United States at the FIBA Under-17 World Cup in Spain, an event John Calipari watched in person.
Kentucky to visit a pair of in-state recruits from same school
Friday 5:36 p.m.
Kentucky is keeping tabs on a pair of class of 2026 recruits from the same Kentucky high school, and the Wildcats are set to visit them both later this month.
Class of 2026 small forward Jordan Bender and forward Sam Mbingazo both attend DeSales High School in Louisville, and UK is expected to watch both players work out sometime in September.
Several other high major programs are also expected to visit the duo, including Michigan, Florida and Indiana.
Kentucky set to visit several top recruits next week
Friday 4:48 p.m.
There will be plenty of time this recruiting period for John Calipari and others to make their priorities known when it comes to future UK recruiting classes, but nothing beats being first. UK has lined up several recruits to visit next week, the first full week of the recruiting period.
According to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers, Kentucky will be visiting the following recruits next week: Ian Jackson and Karter Knox.
Jackson is a five-star shooting guard ranked as the No. 2 player overall in the class of 2024 and the No. 1 shooting guard in the class by the 247Sports Composite.
Jackson is a reclassification candidate to move into the class of 2023, but Jackson told the Herald-Leader last month he would would make the reclassification decision after his upcoming high school season.
He received a Kentucky scholarship offer in June.
Knox (the younger brother of former UK player Kevin Knox) is a five-star small forward ranked as the No. 9 player overall in the class of 2024 and the No. 4 small forward in the class by the 247Sports Composite.
Knox also received a scholarship offer from Kentucky in June.
Additionally, Weingarten has reported Kentucky will visit class of 2026 prospect Jayden Johnson sometime in September.
Johnson, who doesn’t have a Kentucky scholarship offer, is a shooting guard and an in-state recruit from Louisville who attends Trinity High School.
Kentucky expected to visit combo guard from New Jersey
Friday 12:32 p.m.
While John Calipari has started in New Jersey to begin the recruiting period with Aaron Bradshaw and DJ Wagner in mind, Kentucky is also planning to visit a player who doesn’t yet hold a scholarship offer from the Wildcats.
Pro Insight Basketball Director of Scouting Andrew Slater tweeted that Kentucky is one of the schools planning to visit Dylan Harper, a class of 2024 combo guard.
Harper plays high school basketball for the prestigious Don Bosco Prep program in Ramsey, New Jersey, and for the NY Renaissance on the Nike EYBL circuit.
Slater reported that UCLA, Duke, Michigan, Indiana and Kansas are other programs, along with Kentucky, expected to watch Harper at open gyms.
Harper is currently ranked as the No. 27 player overall in the class of 2024 according to the 247Sports Composite, and the No. 2 combo guard in the class.
Harper is one of several recruits in the region that Kentucky is expected to visit to begin the recruiting period.
Harper is the younger brother of former Rutgers star Ron Harper Jr., now in the NBA with the Toronto Raptors.
Calipari tweets that he’s in New Jersey
Friday 9:47 a.m.
Over the years, John Calipari has developed a habit of leaving breadcrumbs on social media during recruiting trips, and that habit held true Friday morning.
Calipari tweeted “Up in the northeast getting ready to hit the recruiting trail and I visited one of my all-time favorite spas today, Exhale AC. Great spot and exceptional service!! Easy to see why it’s ranked as one of the best spas in the country!!”
Exhale AC is located in the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which places Calipari just an hour drive from Camden, New Jersey, the home base for a pair of prized class of 2023 recruits in Aaron Bradshaw and DJ Wagner.
247Sports analyst Travis Branham has reported that Calipari will make his first visit of the recruiting period to Camden High School to visit with Bradshaw and Wagner.
By starting his visits for this recruiting period in this part of the country, Calipari has positioned himself to visit plenty of top Kentucky recruiting targets in the class of 2023 and class of 2024.
Boogie Fland, Ian Jackson, Justin Edwards (already a UK commit) and Tahaad Pettiford are some of the players based in the area that Calipari can easily visit from a geographical standpoint.
This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 9:47 AM.
