Pat Kelsey, Mark Pope discuss basketball at Leadership Louisville
Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey and Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope were on stage together at the 2024 Leadership Louisville Luncheon.
LEXINGTON — The last link to the John Calipari era at Kentucky is a freshman guard.
Travis Perry, the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school history, signed with Calipari and the Wildcats last year. Perry was expected to be just one piece of the 2024-25 roster. But after Calipari left UK to become Arkansas’ coach in April, Perry became the only player to stick with the Wildcats.
Three potential returnees declared for the NBA draft (Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards and Reed Sheppard).
Aside from Perry, the other five 2024 recruits who once had committed to Kentucky enrolled at other schools: Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond followed Calipari to Arkansas, Somto Cyril still wound up in the SEC by signing with Georgia and big man Jayden Quaintance headed west (Arizona State).
The seven other scholarship players on the 2023-24 UK roster hit the transfer portal after Calipari’s exit.
That contingent won’t be the only former Kentucky players suiting up for other college teams this season.
Here’s a look at 14 ex-Wildcats who will play elsewhere during the 2024-25 campaign:
Named Mr. Kentucky Basketball in 2019, Dontaie Allen has bounced around the college ranks. He joined Wyoming’s roster as a transfer after spending the past two seasons at Western Kentucky. Allen appeared in 59 games (24 starts) with the Hilltoppers, averaging 8.7 points per game on 168-of-413 shooting (40.7%). Before those two seasons in Bowling Green, Allen spent three years in Lexington, where he struggled to find his footing. Allen redshirted as a UK freshman in 2019-20 after an ACL tear brought his high school career to a premature end. During the next two seasons with the Wildcats, he played in 40 games — but made only one start. Allen averaged 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game for the Wildcats before entering the transfer portal and enrolling at Western Kentucky prior to the 2022-23 campaign.
Devin Askew has been around the block since his first college season in 2020-21 in Lexington. Now in Year 5, he’s on his fourth school, transferring to Long Beach State in May. That follows one-year stints at Kentucky (2020-21) and Texas (2021-22) and a two-year stay at Cal. A native of Sacramento, California, Askew averaged 6.5 points, 2.9 assists and 2 turnovers during his lone season with the Wildcats. One season later, he appeared in 34 games for the Longhorns, posting averages of 2.1 points and 1.3 assists per contest. After another transfer, Askew became a breakout star for the Golden Bears in 2022-23: He had the highest scoring average on the team (15.5 points per game) before he underwent season-ending hernia surgery. Askew only played in six games for Cal last season before sitting out the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign to heal an injured foot.
A 7-footer from New Jersey, Aaron Bradshaw was considered one of the nation’s best prospects in the 2023 recruiting cycle (ranked No. 4 overall in the 247Sports Composite). But early on, a foot injury sidelined him for all of UK’s preseason and the first seven games of the 2023-24 campaign. While he had intermittent highlights, Bradshaw never showcased the daily dominance that many thought he’d exhibit on his way to becoming a lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Instead, he averaged 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 26 appearances last season. That he played at all might have surprised many Kentucky fans and draft analysts who questioned whether he’d ever suit up for the Wildcats. Still, after Calipari’s departure, and a season that didn’t live up to expectations, Bradshaw entered the transfer portal April 9. He announced his commitment to Ohio State on his personal Instagram page less than a week later.
Jordan Burks joined Kentucky last June after previously signing with Ole Miss. Though he had a superlative showing at UK’s pro day, Burks appeared solely in a reserve role for the Wildcats last season. While UK waited for its three 7-footers to take the floor, Burks capitalized, logging at least 10 minutes in each of the team’s first four games. But once the big men began to play, Burks’ minutes shrank: He only recorded a double-digit-minute figure two more times in his final 16 appearances. Burks played in 20 games, all off the bench, in 2023-24. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per outing. After jumping into the transfer portal in April, Burks announced his commitment to Georgetown in a social media post May 8.
A five-star signee in Kentucky’s 2021 class, Daimion Collins had potential in spades. The problem for him, and the Wildcats, is he provided more potential than substance in two seasons in Lexington. He posted eye-popping numbers (35.2 points, 14.4 rebounds, 7 assists and 6.2 blocks per game) during his senior season at tiny Atlanta High School in Texas. But adapting to the speed and physicality took time for Collins, who started two games (in 47 appearances) at Kentucky. Off the court, Collins also had to deal with a personal tragedy: His father died unexpectedly just before the 2022-23 season tipped off. After the season ended, Collins entered the transfer portal and later pledged to LSU. He played in only six games for the Tigers last season after dislocating his shoulder Nov. 24 against North Florida; at the time of his injury, Collins had nine points, four rebounds and two blocks in 13 minutes. He ended the 2023-24 campaign having averaged 4.3 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. Collins has averaged 2.6 points and 2 rebounds per contest (58 games) in three seasons as a collegian, connecting on 52.8% (57 for 108) of his field-goal attempts.
Cam’Ron Fletcher likely doesn’t look fondly upon his time in Lexington. Calipari suspended Fletcher for a week during the 2020-21 season before the coach permitted the St. Louis native to rejoin the team. The reunion was short-lived: Less than three months later, Fletcher decided to transfer and eventually matriculated to Florida State. He was the Seminoles’ leading rebounder (7.5) and second-leading scorer (10.8) in 2022-23, though Fletcher was limited to 10 games because of injury. His bad luck continued in 2023-24: Fletcher suffered a knee injury against North Carolina in December that ended his season after seven games. In April, he entered the transfer portal for the second time. Fletcher committed to Xavier on May 8. He’s played in 55 games (10 starts) over four seasons, averaging 6.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in 17 minutes.
Injuries have followed CJ Fredrick everywhere like an unrelenting dark cloud. He battled ailments in three seasons at Iowa before transferring to Kentucky prior to the 2021-22 campaign. Fredrick sat out that season with a hamstring injury, then missed seven games in 2022-23 with wrist and rib injuries. In April 2023, he threw himself into the transfer portal for the second time. That same month, Fredrick committed to Cincinnati. But the health issues remained: Injuries limited him to 15 games (10 starts) for the Bearcats last season. Fredrick averaged 6.1 points per game, with five double-digit scoring outings — highlighted by a 19-point effort against Florida Gulf Coast in which he knocked down five of the six 3-pointers he attempted. He’s a dead-eye shooter — when healthy, that is: Fredrick has made 43.5% (243 of 558) of his field goals as a collegian, including 41.3% (140 for 339) of his shots behind the 3-point line.
A late addition to UK’s top-ranked 2023 recruiting class, and 2023-24 roster, Joey Hart originally signed with Central Florida but was released from his letter of intent. After his release, Indiana and Rutgers also showed interest before Hart picked Kentucky following an official visit to Lexington. A three-star prospect from Linton, Indiana, Hart was a finalist for the IndyStar’s 2023 Mr. Basketball award after averaging 23.6 points, 4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game as a senior. He led Linton-Stockton to a 29-2 record and a spot in Indiana’s Class 2A state final. Hart ended his high school career with 1,901 points, 424 rebounds, 224 assists, 162 steals and 112 blocked shots. Yet those numbers didn’t translate immediately to the college level: Hart played in seven games last season, totaling nine minutes and three points. That end-of-game triple gave Kentucky the highest point total (118) of Calipari’s tenure in a win over Marshall in November. Hart entered the transfer portal in April and committed to Ball State later that month, announcing his decision on his personal Instagram account.
Bryce Hopkins took the floor in 28 games for Kentucky in 2021-22. But only one of those games was a start. Limited time on the floor led to limited production, as Hopkins averaged 2.1 points per game. After transferring to Providence, he blossomed into a star. Hopkins was one of only two unanimous All-Big East first-team selections in 2022-23 after he averaged 15.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. But his season came to a close in frustrating fashion — at the hands of his former team. Kentucky defeated Providence in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. In that loss, Hopkins had one of his worst games as a Friar (seven points on 2-of-9 shooting). Hopkins will look for a bounce-back season in 2024-25. That’s because his 2023-24 campaign came to a premature end, suffering a season-ending knee injury in January. At the time of his injury, Hopkins had been averaging 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per outing.
Zvonimir Ivišić had one of the most drama-filled single-season careers in the history of the Kentucky basketball program. He committed to UK on Aug. 1, 2023. But his story was just beginning. It took more than two months before the Croatian stepped foot in the Bluegrass State, as the university pored over his application as an incoming international student. Ivišić finally was admitted to the university Oct. 4 and arrived in Lexington the following week. But then the 7-footer had to sit the next three months while the NCAA investigated his amateur status after playing in professional leagues overseas before he joined Kentucky. The NCAA finally gave him the all-clear Jan. 20, and Ivišić took the floor that night, authoring a memorable performance against Georgia at Rupp Arena, where he finished with 13 points (on 5-of-7 shooting, 3 for 4 on 3s), five rebounds, two assists, three blocks and two steals in 16 minutes. All told, Ivišić played in 15 games off the bench last season, averaging 5.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 11.7 minutes. He was a knockdown shooter, connecting on 57.7% (30 for 52) of his attempts overall and 37.5% (6 of 16) beyond the 3-point arc. Ivišić entered the transfer portal April 13 and announced his commitment to Calipari and the Razorbacks on April 15.
Ugonna Onyenso had a pair of interesting offseasons at Kentucky. In April, he said he’d hire an agent and enter this year’s NBA draft, bringing his college career to an end. Only it wasn’t: Onyenso removed his name from the draft pool and returned to college, eventually committing to Kansas State (via his personal Instagram page) in June. After the 2022-23 season ended, Onyenso put his name into the transfer portal … only to remove it and announce he’d be back for his sophomore season at UK. In Year 2 with the Wildcats, Onyenso missed all of the 2023-24 preseason as well as the first nine games of the regular season because of a foot injury. Once cleared to play, Onyenso participated in 24 games (14 starts) and posted a stat line of 3.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 18.7 minutes. Among UK players with at least 30 blocks in a season, Onyenso’s blocks-per-game average (2.80) was the fifth-best mark in program history, trailing Anthony Davis (4.65 in 2011-12), Nerlens Noel (4.42 in 2012-13), Willie Cauley-Stein (2.86 in 2013-14) and Sam Bowie (2.86 in 1980-81). Onyenso tallied eight blocks in an overtime loss to Florida, then tied a Rupp Arena record (established by Hall of Famer David Robinson in 1987) with 10 rejections in a win over Ole Miss. During his freshman season in 2022-23, Onyenso appeared in 16 games, averaging 6.9 minutes an outing.
After limited minutes as a freshman in 2022-23, Adou Thiero proved his worth as a starter last season: He was in the lineup for 19 of his 25 appearances. Thiero averaged 7.2 points and 5 rebounds per game, with a standout showing versus then-No. 1 Kansas at the Champions Classic in Chicago on Nov. 14, when he set single-game career highs in points (16) and rebounds (13). Thiero sat out seven games in the middle of the season, but returned and started 11 of the Wildcats’ final 14 contests. Had Calipari been back in Lexington for a 16th season on the bench, Thiero was primed to shoulder even more minutes in 2024-25. Instead, he became the first player from last season’s roster to make a decision about his future: He leapt into the transfer portal March 28. Calipari’s longstanding relationship with the Thiero family — Adou’s father, Almamy Thiero, played at Memphis during Calipari’s tenure with the Tigers — came in handy at his new gig. Thiero committed to Calipari and the Razorbacks on May 6.
One of the most highly touted members of Kentucky’s 2023 signing class, D.J. Wagner was an explosive scorer during high school, as he poured in more than 2,000 points during his prep career. The New Jersey native went on to average 9.9 points, 3.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 25.8 minutes per game for the Wildcats last season. He played in 29 of Kentucky’s 33 games in 2023-24, making 28 starts. His best performance offensively occurred in November, when he produced a career-high 28 points in a 118-82 win over Marshall. Wagner entered the transfer portal April 15, then committed to Calipari and the Razorbacks in May.
Lance Ware entered college as a highly touted four-star signee, ranked as one of the top 40 players in the 2020 class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. But his career hasn’t come close to matching his star rating. Ware failed to find many minutes during his three-season stint in Lexington. And during his time on the floor, he provided scant production. The 6-foot-9 Ware had just two games in which he grabbed 10 or more rebounds, and he posted only one double-digit scoring effort in 77 career appearances at Kentucky. After the 2022-23 season, he entered the transfer portal and wound up at Villanova, closer to his home state of New Jersey. Though he found a new team, it was the same result for Ware: little in the way of court time. Despite playing in 33 games last season, he averaged 1.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per outing. He hit the transfer portal a second time during the offseason, reuniting with former UK assistant KT Turner at UT Arlington. Turner wrapped up his first season as a college head coach in 2023-24, leading the Mavericks to a 20-14 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the Western Athletic Conference.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.
