KSR Today: Wrapping up the final day at Nike EYBL in Indy
Good morning, folks! I’m writing from the Pacers Athletic Center, which is roughly 30 minutes outside of downtown Indianapolis. Jack Pilgrim and I have been here all weekend watching all of the nation’s top underclassman hoopers at the Nike EYBL Session II, which wraps up today with the final round of games set to tipoff at 11:00 a.m. EST. A free live stream for all games is available here.
It’s been quite the basketball-filled weekend — and my eyes felt like they weighed 10 pounds each by the time Saturday’s day-long stretch of games came to an end — with plenty of Kentucky targets showing out. We’ve already touched on a few of them throughout the last 36 hours, including important recruiting updates on Justin Edwards (’23), Aaron Bradshaw (’23), and Trentyn Flowers (’24). Click the name of each player to check out those interview breakdowns. There will be much, much more to come.
Kentucky head coach John Calipari, along with assistants Chin Coleman and Jai Lucas, have been manning the sidelines all weekend long in Indy and arrived at the gym bright and early today at 8:00 a.m.
Now, before I get back to the on-court action, let’s dive into the news and notes you need to know to get your Sunday rolling.
Daimion Collins is officially BACK!
News leaked out that this would happen a few weeks ago, but he made it official on Saturday: Daimion Collins is coming back to Kentucky for a sophomore season. This past season, the 6-foot-9 big man saw a limited role where he averaged 2.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in just 7.4 minutes per game. However, he’s long been considered a work-in-progress type of prospect and could be in store for a major breakout season during his second year in Lexington.
Baseball and Softball back in action
The Kentucky Baseball and Softball teams will hit their respective home turfs once again on Sunday, but with very opposite results from the day before.
Starting with the good news, the baseball team managed to even up the series against Vanderbilt behind an impressive outing from pitcher Zack Lee. The 6-foot-4 junior gave up just two runs while the bats mustered up enough offense to sneak away with a 3-2 victory. Sunday’s rubber match is set for later today at 1:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network+. As always, KSR’s Eric Decker will have you ready with the coverage from Kentucky Proud Park.
Now for the bad news. The softball squad dropped Saturday’s series-opener against Missouri by a let’s not talk about it final score of 13-0 — on Bark in the Park Day, no less! It only took five innings for the Tigers to run-rule Kentucky as the bats failed to record a single hit. But fear not! There will be two more opportunities for redemption. UK will take on Mizzou today at 7:00 p.m. EST on the SEC Network and then again on Monday.
Leonard Miller puts name in draft; Kentucky extends new offer
Two important recruiting notes happened on Saturday — just not up in Indianapolis.
Class of 2022 five-star Leonard Miller officially entered his name in the NBA Draft pool but will retain his college eligibility. The 6-foot-10 Miller previously cut his list of options to three, with Arizona, Kentucky and the G League Ignite remaining in contention. The draft now presents a fourth option for the 6-foot-11 wing.
“The pro route is a big option for me; it is very visible right now,” Miller recently told On3‘s Jamie Shaw. “I just have to keep working for that to happen. There are a lot of people telling me the NBA Draft or the G-League could be possible. Eventually, I want to get drafted, so if that comes about this year, I will want to test that.”
Kentucky head coach John Calipari and assistant coach Chin Coleman made the trip up to Fort Erie International Academy to see the Canadian prospect back on March 25. Miller then took an official visit to Lexington last weekend.
“Not gonna lie, it was kind of crazy because they’re people I’ve looked up to my whole life, like Kentucky as a whole,” Miller told On3. “It was a good opportunity for me and (Calipari) liked me. I treated the situation like it was normal, but inside, it was kind of crazy.”
Elsewhere, down in South Carolina, Wildcat assistant coach Orlando Antigua was scouting the Adidas side of the AAU circuit, where he extended an offer to rising class of 2023 sharpshooter Andrej Stojakovic, the son of longtime NBA veteran Peja Stojakovic. The 6-foot-7 wing’s grassroots team, the Compton Magic (3SSB), announced the news.
Stojakovic is rated as a top-100 prospect in the junior class, with On3 listing him at No. 97 overall in the 2023 Player Rankings. He’s ranked No. 63 at Rivals and No. 103 at 247Sports. Don’t be fooled by the rankings though — Stojakovic is very much a recruit on the rise.
More NBA Playoff action
We’ll have a full rundown of Saturday’s game coming to the site shortly, so let’s go ahead and preview what’s in store for Sunday. It’s a four-game slate today, featuring a couple of former Kentucky Wildcats.
1:00 | ABC: (3) Bucks @ (6) Bulls MIL leads 2-1
3:30 | ABC: (3) Warriors @ (6) Nuggets GSW leads 3-0
7:00 | TNT: (1) Heat [Adebayo, Herro] @ (8) Hawks MIA leads 2-1
9:30 | TNT: (1) Suns [Booker– out] @ (8) Pelicans PHX leads 2-1
That’s all the news and notes I’ve got you this morning. Time to get back to some scoutin’.
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