Kentucky basketball recruiting: Where Wildcats currently stand with 2024 recruiting targets
LEXINGTON — Kentucky men's basketball and coach John Calipari will open the 2023-24 season in less than two months. And Wildcats coaches are working in the meantime to build the roster into the future.
One player is currently committed to UK's 2024 class: four-star center Somto Cyril. According to 247Sports, the Wildcats have issued scholarship offers to 15 other prospects in the cycle.
Of that group, five committed elsewhere: small forward Ace Bailey (Rutgers), center Flory Bidunga (Kansas), shooting guard Ian Jackson (North Carolina), combo guard Ahmad Nowell (UConn) and point guard Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn). Another target, small forward Naas Cunningham, did not list Kentucky among his five finalists (Duke, Kansas, Memphis, Rutgers and UCLA), in February.
Here is a look at the other uncommitted 2024 recruits with UK offers.
2024 RECRUITS WITH KENTUCKY OFFERS
Amier Ali
High school: IMG Academy (Florida)
Position: Small forward
247Sports Composite national ranking: 51
247Sports Composite position ranking: 15
What to know: Kentucky offered Ali in April 2022. A year later Ali included UK in his eight finalists, along with Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State and Texas. He has taken official visits to Florida State and Ohio State as well as an unofficial to Texas. Though he now plays for IMG Academy in the Sunshine State, Ali spent most of his life in Columbus, Ohio. No Crystal Ball predictions have been logged by the 247Sports network as of early September.
Isaiah Elohim
High school: Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California)
Position: Shooting guard
247Sports Composite national ranking: 27
247Sports Composite position ranking: 10
What to know: To get in the running to land Elohim, the Wildcats need to make up ground quickly. Elohim, who earned an offer from UK in June 2022, already took an official visit to Kansas in February and has more lined up this fall, beginning with one this weekend to Villanova. Per 247Sports, Elohim also will take official visits to Arkansas and Providence later this month and one to Southern Cal next month. Eric Bossi, the national basketball director for 247Sports, wrote last week Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Providence, UCLA, USC and Villanova are among the favorites to land him.
Boogie Fland
High school: Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, New York)
Position: Point guard
247Sports Composite national ranking: 9
247Sports Composite position ranking: 2
What to know: Fland will be in Lexington this weekend on an official visit. It's among three he's scheduled this month, along with Alabama and Maryland. He's also visited Indiana, Michigan and North Carolina. Those six schools were in Fland's group of eight finalists in July, along with St. John's and UConn. There are no Crystal Ball predictions logged for Fland, but Bossi reported "Indiana, Kentucky and UConn have come up a lot during conversations with sources and appear to be in the upper tier." Fland has yet to announce a timetable for his decision.
Tre Johnson
High school: Link Academy (Branson, Missouri)
Position: Shooting guard
247Sports Composite national ranking: 4
247Sports Composite position ranking: 1
What to know: The nation's top-ranked shooting guard in the 2024 cycle, per the 247Sports Composite, Johnson is among the most coveted prospects in his class. Kentucky is one of six finalists for the Dallas native, battling Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas and Texas. Johnson has one Crystal Ball prediction, projecting him to commit to Baylor, where his father, Richard Johnson Jr., played in the 1990s. That coincided with Rodney Terry's time with the Bears as an assistant; Terry now is entering his first full season as Texas' head coach. Given the familial connections to those two in-state schools, Baylor and Texas are thought to be the front-runners for Johnson. UK is likely next in line, though Bossi reported Johnson could skip college to join NBA G League Ignite.
Karter Knox
High school: Overtime Elite (Atlanta, Georgia)
Position: Small forward
247Sports Composite national ranking: 7
247Sports Composite position ranking: 2
What to know: Though Knox lists seven finalists, it appears this will be a UK/U of L battle. On one side: Kentucky, where his older brother, Kevin Knox Jr., played under Calipari; on the other, Louisville, whose head coach, Kenny Payne, tutored the older Knox brother in Lexington and with the New York Knicks. If Karter Knox doesn't end up with the Cardinals or Wildcats, it's likely that he's forgone college entirely to play with G League Ignite, which Kevin Knox Sr. (Karter and Kevin Jr.'s father) said is a possibility "if that's the best fit."
Patrick Ngongba II
High school: Paul VI Catholic (Fairfax, Virginia)
Position: Center
247Sports Composite national ranking: 28
247Sports Composite position ranking: 4
What to know: Kentucky's most recent offer — it came just after Peach Jam concluded this summer — wasted no time scheduling an official visit to Lexington. According to On3 recruiting writer Joe Tipton, Ngongba will be in town for an OV at the end of September. Ngongba also plans to visit Duke, Kansas State and Michigan this fall. Those four schools are finalists, along with Indiana, Kansas, Providence and UConn. Though he hasn't given a commitment date, Ngongba told On3 he wanted to pick a school prior to the early signing period in November. While he has no Crystal Ball predictions yet, Ngongba told On3 he wanted to pick a program, and coach, that could help him "get to the next level." That works in the Wildcats' favor: no team, or coach, has sent more players to the NBA than UK since Calipari's first season, with 47 draft picks in his 14-year tenure.
Travis Perry
High school: Lyon County
Position: Point guard
247Sports Composite national ranking: 74
247Sports Composite position ranking: 6
What to know: He's already Kentucky high school basketball's all-time scorer with one more season to play, and UK is in the mix. Perry picked up an offer from the Wildcats in June 2022 and attended Big Blue Madness last October. He told Kentucky Sports Radio he will attend Big Blue Madness next month, too. If all goes according to plan, Perry will decide prior to the beginning of his senior season in November. Perry hasn't released a list of finalists, but he has taken official visits to Michigan, Ole Miss and Purdue and has been on a pair of unofficial visits to UK. If Perry joins the Wildcats, it would mark the second time in as many classes they kept an in-state star in the Bluegrass State, following freshman Reed Sheppard, the son of Jeff Sheppard.
Jayden Quaintance
High school: Word Of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Position: Center
247Sports Composite national ranking: 11
247Sports Composite position ranking: 3
What to know: Originally a 2025 recruit, Quaintance reclassified to the 2024 class this summer. He has scheduled four official visits before the end of next month, starting with Ohio State next week, following with Missouri and Cincinnati and wrapping up with Kentucky the weekend of Oct. 20. Bossi reported that while all the schools Quaintance will visit have a chance to sign him, "Kentucky is one program that seems to be on the tip of everybody’s tongues when talking about a potential landing spot." If Quaintance pledges, that would give the Wildcats an uber-athletic tandem in their 2024 class alongside Cyril.
Billy Richmond
High school: Camden (Camden, New Jersey)
Position: Shooting guard
247Sports Composite national ranking: 34
247Sports Composite position ranking: 6
What to know: Richmond could be another player where Calipari's past helps. His father, Billy Richmond Jr., played at Memphis during Calipari's tenure with the Tigers. The coach tapped that well in the 2023 recruiting class by signing D.J. Wagner, the son of former Memphis standout Dajuan Wagner. Several UK commits have come from Camden High in recent years, including Wagner, freshman Aaron Bradshaw, current walk-on Kareem Watkins and former forward Lance Ware. Richmond named eight finalists in August — UK, Louisville, Memphis, Alabama, Kansas, LSU, Miami, and Texas. He has five official visits (UK, Alabama, Kansas, LSU and Memphis) coming in the next month and a half. Richmond hasn't publicly revealed favorites, but when he spoke with The Courier Journal at Peach Jam in July, he said he planned to go where "(there's) great people around, somewhere I know that I can trust myself to be around — and they can trust me to be around. Somewhere I feel comfortable and (get) a good education, too."
'Baby Shaq': Here's what UK basketball is getting in 2024 recruit Somto Cyril
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Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Where Kentucky stands with top 2024 high school basketball recruits
