KSR Today: Roster News, Commitment Watch, NFL Draft Week

On3 imageby:Tyler Thompson•04/25/22•

MrsTylerKSR

Good morning, Big Blue Nation, and welcome to a new week. I hope you enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend. I know I’m not alone in spending it doing yard work and cleaning the pollen off my porch. Is The Pollening™ finally over? Please??

With so much time outside, you may need to catch up on what happened in UK Sports land, so let’s go.

Sahvir Wheeler made it official he’s back

Given John Calipari’s remarks on Friday, the writing was kind of on the wall, but on Sunday evening, Sahvir Wheeler made it official that he’s returning to Kentucky for another season.

“Since everyone thinking the last post was a returning announcement, here’s your official one: IM BACK WATCH YOURS.” Wheeler wrote on Instagram.

“You know, let me say this. I know people — and most of this stuff is a small group — but they were on Sahvir because of that last game,” Calipari said on Friday during the “Sports Talk with Dan Issel & Mike Pratt.” “Do you remember Sahvir against North Carolina and against Kansas, how he played? He had a hell of a year until he got injured. And then he gained some weight, he didn’t play as well. But he’s still that guy and I told him, ‘If I can get you right, and get you steady and who you are and keep improving — because he’s improved — I said, ‘You’re the difference in this stuff.’”

It was reported last month, but Daimion Collins also made his return to Kentucky official over the weekend, writing “Let’s run it back” on Instagram.

So, to catch you up, here’s the 2022-23 roster as we know it:

Returning

Expected to Return

Coming In

Testing the Waters

Gone

As you know, at the end of last week, Shaedon Sharpe announced he’s testing the NBA Draft waters. Yesterday, Jonathan Givony watched him work out and came away very impressed.

Sharpe and the other Cats testing the waters have until June 1 to pull their names out of the draft and return to school. NBA Draft decisions withstanding, where do the Cats go from here?

Commitment watch for Antonio Reeves

Even before Shaedon Sharpe’s news, buzz that Antonio Reeves will commit to Kentucky ramped up. The Illinois State shooting guard visited Lexington April 15-17 and liked what he saw so much he decided not to visit Memphis this past weekend. He remains on commitment watch, with news expected at any moment.

In other 2022-23 roster news, five-star wing Leonard Miller announced he is testing the NBA Draft waters. He also visited Kentucky the weekend of April 15-17. If Miller doesn’t like what he hears from the league, Kentucky and Arizona are the top contenders, with the Bluegrass Wildcats reportedly holding the edge.

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Calipari and staff back on the recruiting trail

It was a busy weekend for Kentucky’s roster beyond next season. John Calipari and Kentucky’s staff crisscrossed between the Nike and Adidas circuits, checking in on their top prospects, including DJ Wagner. They extended a scholarship offer to 2023 sharpshooter Andrej Stojakovic, son of 13-year NBA veteran Peja Stojakovic. He joins Wagner, Robert Dillingham, JJ Taylor, Matas Buzelis, Justin Edwards, KJ Evans, and Aaron Bradshaw as players Kentucky has offered in the 2023 class. Reed Sheppard is Kentucky’s only 2023 commit.

Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan were in Indianapolis for the Nike EYBL session. Catch up on their coverage:

Bruiser Flint is in the mix for the Fordham job

Is there about to be a vacancy on Kentucky’s staff? Last night, word broke that Bruiser Flint, Kentucky’s associate to the head coach, is interviewing for the Fordham head coaching position. Fordham’s previous head coach, Kyle Neptune, recently accepted the same position at Villanova following Jay Wright’s retirement. Providence assistant Ivan Thomas, Rutgers associate head coach Brandin Knight, and Bryant head coach Jared Grasso are also interviewing for the Fordham gig. According to Adam Zagoria, a decision is expected in the next day or so.

If Bruiser gets the job, could Calipari bring in another familiar name to fill the spot? As in, one related to a very prized recruit? Hmm…

A familiar name is headed to Louisville

In rival news, former Tennessee Volunteer — and one-time Kentucky recruit — Brandon Huntley-Hatfield is headed to Louisville. The 6’10”, 246 lbs. freshman forward averaged 3.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.5 mins per game last season in Knoxville. Huntley-Hatfield is loosely related to former Cat Alex Poythress and dreamed of playing for Kentucky growing up, but the Cats cut ties with him during his recruitment. Now, he’ll play for their archrival. Life’s funny like that.

Kentucky Baseball dropped its series to No. 19 Vanderbilt

A series win over No. 19 Vanderbilt could have been exactly what Kentucky Baseball’s NCAA Tournament resume needed. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. The Bat Cats beat No. 19 Vanderbilt 3-2 on Saturday, but lost Friday and Sunday’s games, dropping the series 1-2. It’s the fourth straight SEC series the Cats have lost. Kentucky is now 22-18, 6-12 in SEC play, with four SEC series remaining. They host Dayton Tuesday night.

Kentucky Softball closes the series vs. Mizzou

Kentucky’s woes extended to the softball diamond. The No. 9 Cats lost to Missouri 13-0 on Saturday and 8-7 on Sunday. They’ll close out the series vs. the Tigers tonight (7 p.m., SEC Network). This is the second straight SEC series Kentucky’s lost after dropping two of three on the road vs. No. 6 Arkansas last weekend. Mizzou has now won six straight games at John Cropp Stadium dating back to 2016 and has won every game against Kentucky since 2017, the Cats’ longest active losing streak against an SEC opponent. Kentucky’s record falls to 30-13, 9-8 in SEC play.

Kentucky Football picked up two commits on Friday

ICYMI, there were some Friday Yahtzees for the football team. Ole Miss defensive back Keidron Smith announced he is transferring to Kentucky on Friday afternoon, helping fill a major area of need on next year’s roster. Later that night, Belfry tailback Isaac Dixon, Kentucky Mr. Football, announced he’s taking his talents to Lexington too. Dixon will now be the fifth Mr. Football winner — Patrick Towles, Kash Daniel, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jager Burton — to play for Mark Stoops at Kentucky.

The deadline for players to enter the transfer portal is May 1, so if players intend to leave Kentucky or some big names become available in the portal, we’ll know this week.

The NFL Draft starts Thursday

This week, some Kentucky Wildcats’ dreams will come true. The 2022 NFL Draft starts Thursday in Las Vegas and seven former Cats will be hoping to hear their names called over the three-day event. Josh Paschal, Darian Kinnard, and Wan’Dale Robinson are projected to go in the second or third rounds on Friday night. Luke Fortner, Dare Rosenthal, Yusuf Corker, and Marquan McCall will likely follow suit in Rounds 4-7 on Saturday (although Fortner could sneak into the third round).

Adam Luckett’s been breaking down each of Kentucky’s draft hopefuls for us. Check out his series as we get ready for that all-familiar jingle.

Also check out the draft stage, which is right in front of the fountains at the Bellagio:

NBA playoffs continue

Last night, two teams got one step closer to advancing to the next round of the NBA Playoffs. Milwaukee now has a 3-1 lead on Chicago after their 119-95 victory. The Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 110-86 to take a 3-1 lead. The Warriors had a chance to sweep the Nuggets, but Denver survived, winning 126-121 to bring the series to 3-1. Elsewhere in the West, the Pelicans beat the Suns 118-103 to even the series at 2-2.

Tonight, Boston and Philadelphia have the opportunity to advance. Here’s the schedule:

  • 7:00 PM (TNT): Celtics vs. Nets – Boston leads series 3-0
  • 8:00 PM (NBATV): Raptors vs. 76ers – Philadelphia leads series 3-1
  • 9:30 PM (TNT): Jazz vs. Mavericks – Series tied 2-2

Honestly, the only NBA news I cared about this weekend was the security guard tackling a protester during the Timberwolves game Saturday night:

The Chris Stapleton concert looked like a fun time

It was a night several years in the making but Chris Stapleton’s Concert for Kentucky featuring Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow looked like a massive success. According to my social media timelines, the weather was perfect, the stadium was packed, and UK Athletics managed it well. Hopefully, enough beer was sold that the powers that be will let us enjoy some during football season this fall.

Even Oscar Tshiebwe was there, wearing a cowboy hat.

Photo: Oscar Tshiebwe/Snapchat

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