Three future 'Cats among Top 6 of On3's updated 2023 basketball player rankings
John Calipari’s incoming batch of freshmen hoopers is littered with five-star talents.
On Monday afternoon, our good friends over at On3 updated the class of 2023 basketball player rankings for the first time since November. To little surprise, every single one of the future Kentucky Wildcats cracked the Top 50, with a trio of them considered among the nation’s top six prospects and one holding onto the top overall spot.
C Aaron Bradshaw checks in at No. 1 in the latest rankings with SF Justin Edwards not far behind at No. 4 and CG DJ Wagner landing at No. 6 — all considered five-star recruits. Down the list, CG Robert Dillingham is ranked No. 19 as a five-star while CG Reed Sheppard lands at No. 48 as a four-star.
Bradshaw holds onto the same position that he earned back in the fall, as does his Camden (NJ) High School teammate Wagner, who remains at No. 6. Edwards moved up slightly from No. 5 to No. 4 while Dillingham (down from No. 13 to No. 19) and Sheppard (No. 45 to No. 48) both saw their stock take a minor dip. All five players have signed their National Letters of Intent with UK and will join the program this summer.
Bradshaw and Wagner were both in Frankfort, KY on Friday as Camden beat Combine Academy (NC) 80-57 at Kentucky State University.
Here’s what On3’s Jamie Shaw had to say about the decision to keep Bradshaw, a skilled 7-foot-1 center, as the top overall prospect in ’23.
So before we get too far into the weeds here, there was not really a conversation for the No. 1 spot this go around. In the previous update, we made the decision to put Kentucky signee Aaron Bradshaw atop the list. The 7-footer has done nothing to dispel that notion.
Since GG Jackson decided to make a move into the 2022 class, vacating the No. 1 spot, there have been multiple players at the top. Without Jackson, there is not a consensus player in this recruiting cycle who combines current high school production with high-level, translatable projection in the way Jackson did.
In putting these rankings together, we look toward the long-term upside, the high-level, translatable projection side of things. Isaiah Collier is a wizard with the basketball, and his court vision is unmatched at the top of this class. However, in looking at Bradshaw, we see a legit 7-foot center who has touch, can move his feet and is an excellent rim protector.
Bradshaw is already producing at this level, and there is more to be unwrapped and explored with his game.
The decision to put a player and keep a player at No. 1 is not one we take lightly. However, in taking a step back and looking at the arc of what Bradshaw has done and the realistic outcomes of where he could go, the conversation for this update did not take long.
Jamie Shaw, On3
Looking at updated player rankings concerning the On3 Consensus, which takes into account all four major recruiting services (On3, 247, Rivals, and ESPN), Kentucky’s class comes out even better on paper. Edwards (No. 2), Wagner (No. 3), Bradshaw (No. 4), and Dillingham (No. 10) are all among the nation’s best high school seniors while Sheppard is held in higher regard at No. 34.
Calipari’s group is easily ranked as the best of any school in the country. On3’s final player rankings for the ’23 class will be released in the spring.
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