‘It’s surreal.’ Aaron Bradshaw begins to envision future with Kentucky men’s basketball.
Even with all the potential possessed by the five players in Kentucky’s top-ranked 2023 men’s basketball recruiting class, nobody has as high a ceiling as Aaron Bradshaw.
This is both hard work and happenstance: Bradshaw is the tallest of UK’s five incoming players for next season, a 7-foot center with the ability to inhale offensive rebounds and finish in a variety of ways around the rim.
He’s mobile enough at the high school level to run lob sets, as well as finish finesse hook shots over his defender.
But what distinguishes Bradshaw from his fellow 2023 Kentucky basketball signees is the amount of offensive ability still left untapped.
Only during his senior season at Camden (N.J.) High School has Bradshaw begun to effectively take and make shots from distance: Mid-range jumpers and three-pointers that further space the floor on a high school juggernaut that already boasts plenty of scoring with 2023 UK signee DJ Wagner and 2024 UK recruit Billy Richmond.
The result from these combined factors often looks like Friday night: Camden easily dispatched a national opponent, Combine Academy (N.C.), in front of a packed gym in Frankfort full of UK fans getting an advanced look at two future Wildcats.
“It was really fun, I saw a lot of blue out there. I knew it was the supporters and I really appreciate them for coming out,” Bradshaw said Friday. “It felt like I was at Rupp Arena. I felt like I was at home, so it was a good feeling.”
Bradshaw — a consensus five-star recruit who is ranked as the No. 4 player overall in the 2023 class by the 247Sports Composite — led Camden in scoring with 21 points in the game, while also feasting on the offensive glass.
“He’s an avatar. You’ve got to understand: He’s 7-1, he can dribble, pass, shoot, that’s where the game is going,” UK assistant coach Chin Coleman said about Bradshaw in December on BBN Tonight.
“Our three guards (Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard and Wagner) are all going to be really good, but to have a 7-footer with the skillset that he has, that’s kind of significant. That’s a little different. That’s special.”
Coleman, along with Kentucky head coach John Calipari and several members of the 2022-23 UK men’s basketball team, were all seated courtside Friday night to watch Bradshaw’s modern-day basketball skillset up close.
There’s an expectation that Bradshaw’s offensive game will be more polished by the time he arrives in Lexington this summer, but plenty of work still remains for the top-ranked center in the 2023 class.
Bradshaw’s 7-foot frame needs muscle added to it, something that should come with time spent in Kentucky’s strength and conditioning program.
While his versatile offensive package features turnaround and fadeaway shots, Bradshaw probably won’t make as many at the college level.
On top of all this is the looming question of how well Bradshaw can guard defensively on the perimeter in high-major college basketball, a talking point fresh on the minds of Kentucky fans this season with Oscar Tshiebwe.
ESPN’s lead NBA Draft analyst, Jonathan Givony, highlighted several of these concerns when scouting Bradshaw and other top prospects at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Massachusetts, last month.
While these concerns exist, there will be plenty of time to address them.
For now, Friday night in Frankfort served as a celebration for two stars in a Kentucky recruiting class full of them, and a chance for Bradshaw to reflect on his basketball journey so far with a good friend.
“It’s surreal because we’re going to the next level. Not too many people go as like a package deal,” Bradshaw said with air quotes and a smile, referencing both he and Wagner going to Kentucky. “It’s surreal because it’s playing with my little brother. That’s basically what it is.”
The duo even got a feel for what their future will be last week: Both Bradshaw and Wagner stopped by the UK basketball facility, met with Calipari and Coleman and had an impromptu practice session at the Joe Craft Center.
“Man it was surreal. It’s like Anthony Davis, all these different people that I’ve watched and look up to there (on the wall at the Craft Center),” Bradshaw said. “I’m going there? It’s a blessing, it’s a blessing.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2023 at 11:48 AM.
