Transfer portal talk: A starter from last season’s NCAA runner-up is visiting Kentucky
With the Kentucky men’s basketball program now days removed from missing out on former Michigan center Hunter Dickinson — the top prize in this offseason’s NCAA transfer portal who elected to go to Kansas — it’s time for the Wildcats to quickly adjust their roster-building plans.
To that effect, UK has recently been linked to a pair of big men currently in the portal, including one player who started in last season’s national championship game.
That player will also be taking a recruiting trip to Lexington starting Wednesday.
Keshad Johnson becomes UK’s top transfer target
Kentucky’s new priority in the transfer portal is a player who has both a Final Four and national championship game appearance on his résumé from last season.
Former San Diego State forward Keshad Johnson is in the portal, along with testing his NBA Draft stock.
Kentucky is among the final five schools Johnson is considering as a possible transfer destination, along with Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Southern Cal.
The deadline for Johnson to decide whether to return to college or turn professional is May 31.
Johnson will be taking a recruiting visit to Lexington from Wednesday through Friday. He’s already taken recruiting visits to Arizona, Oklahoma and USC.
A 6-7 forward, Johnson is a graduate transfer from the Aztecs program and would be playing his fifth season of college basketball with the 2023-24 season.
Johnson has progressed during his college career, something clearly evident as a senior at SDSU this past season: He started all 39 games for the Aztecs. He averaged 7.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per contest.
While Johnson shot 53.2 percent from the field, his shooting production from three-point range (26.2%) and free-throw line (64.8%) was lacking.
During SDSU’s NCAA Tournament run, Johnson was a significant contributor with averages of 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Johnson led the Aztecs in scoring in the national title game with 14 points.
UK linked to former North Dakota State big man
In addition to Johnson, the Wildcats have also been linked to a star mid-major big man: former North Dakota State forward Grant Nelson.
A 6-11 forward who entered the transfer portal earlier this month, Nelson is also testing the NBA Draft waters after an uber-productive 2022-23 season for the Bison in which he averaged 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 blocks.
Nelson was a 27.2% shooter on three-point shots and made 71.4% of his free throws.
Across his three seasons at NDSU, Nelson was 30.7% from long range.
He would also have at least two seasons of college eligibility left.
UK is one of a long list of college programs that have contacted Nelson since he entered the transfer portal.
Kentucky in search of frontcourt help
Whether it’s Johnson (somewhat undersized at 6-7), Nelson (who is 6-11) or another player yet to be revealed (like Isaiah Miranda, the 7-1 former N.C. State forward who never actually played for the Wolfpack and entered the transfer portal Tuesday), it’s abundantly clear Kentucky is seeking frontcourt help.
After missing out on Dickinson, the only frontcourt players currently projected to be on the Kentucky roster next season is incoming freshman Aaron Bradshaw and sophomore big Ugonna Onyenso.
Bradshaw is still expected to arrive in Lexington this summer as part of UK’s five-player recruiting class despite recent whispers of him being courted at the eleventh hour by Southern Cal, a program that recently landed star recruit Bronny James.
Onyenso had a brief stay in the transfer portal himself before electing to return to Kentucky.
From last season’s team, Jacob Toppin will be turning professional, Daimion Collins and Lance Ware are transferring and it’s unclear what the plans are for both Chris Livingston and Oscar Tshiebwe.
Significant news as it pertains to Tshiebwe surfaced late Tuesday morning when it was reported Tshiebwe received an invitation to next week’s NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.
Tshiebwe, who was spotted at the Kentucky Derby in Louisville over the weekend, has spent recent weeks meeting with and working out for NBA teams, including the Houston Rockets on Monday.
Still, Tshiebwe isn’t projected to be a first-round NBA Draft selection, leading to the increased likelihood he might be wearing Kentucky blue for a third and final season.
