Where Kentucky MBB targets stand in On3's latest 2024 HS player rankings

New year, new rankings!

On Monday, our good friends over at On3 unveiled their latest Top 150 player rankings for the 2024 high school basketball class. This update is the fourth for this group and the first of 2023, with the most recent one coming in October. With the high school basketball season in full swing, plenty of recruits have played their way up and down the rankings since the fall.

Where did the Kentucky Wildcats’ top targets land in the first update of 2023? Find out below.

Kentucky MBB’s 2024 targets (On3 rankings)

5-stars

No. 1 – Tre Johnson (SG) 6-5, 180 | Lake Highlands (Dallas, TX) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 3 – Ian Jackson (SG) 6-5, 180 | Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, NY) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 4 – Flory Bidunga (C) 6-9, 210 | Kokomo (Kokomo, IN) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 5 – Johnuel “Boogie” Fland (PG) 6-3, 175 | Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, NY) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 6 – Karter Knox (SF) 6-5, 180 | Tampa Catholic (Tampa, FL) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 7 – Airious “Ace” Bailey (PF) 6-9, 210 | McEachern (Chattanooga, TN) [Offered by Kentucky]

For the third consecutive update, Dallas, TX product Tre Johnson holds down the top overall spot. The sharpshooting guard has been on the Kentucky radar since coaches were allowed to make in-person contact with this batch of high school juniors over the summer. Johnson was joined at the top by Ian Jackson at No. 3, who had been ranked No. 2 overall in previous updates but was leap-frogged by 6-foot-5 combo guard Dylan Harper. Jackson has long been considered UK’s favorite target from the ’24 class.

Meanwhile, Flory Bidunga, who announced a Kentucky offer in October, is arguably the top center prospect in all of high school hoops right now and checks in at No. 4 overall. Johnuel “Boogie” Fland saw a nice boost in his ranking, moving from No. 10 to No. 5, as did Karter Knox, who jumped from No. 9 to No. 6 and is the younger brother of former Wildcat Kevin Knox. Lastly, Airious “Ace” Bailey, who recently included Kentucky among his Top 12 that he dropped on New Year’s Day, stayed still at No. 7.

4-stars

No. 15 – Somtochukwu Cyril (C) 6-10, 250 | Overtime Elite (Enugu, Nigeria)
No. 16 – Trentyn Flowers (SF) 6-8, 180 | Combine Academy (Baltimore, MD) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 22 – Isaiah Elohim (SG) 6-5, 205 | Sierra Canyon (Kingston, NY) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 30 – Amier Ali (SF) 6-8, 180 | IMG Academy (Columbus, OH) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 35 – Tahaad Pettiford (PG) 6-0, 160 | Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, NJ) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 37 – Dink Pate (SG) 6-7, 180 | Pinkston (Dallas, TX)
No. 40 – John Bol (C) 7-2, 190 | Sunrise Christian Academy (Saint Louis, MO)
No. 94 – Billy Richmond (SG) 6-4, 180 | Camden (Memphis, TN) [Offered by Kentucky]
No. 109 – Travis Perry (PG) 6-1, 170 | Lyon County (Eddyville, KY) [Offered by Kentucky]

This group of four-star targets is a bit tougher to read than the five-stars mentioned above. Many of them have publicly announced scholarships from the Wildcats, although not all of them are considered to be legitimate offers from the staff.

Tahaad Pettiford is a prospect believed to be high on Kentucky’s radar, but he did dip slightly in On3’s update, falling from No. 29 to No. 35. Bluegrass native Travis Perry picked up his UK offer back in June, although the two sides do not appear to be in constant communication at this time.

As a side note: Perry isn’t the only local product to crack the updated rankings. Elizabethtown’s Ayden Evans, a 6-foot-8 power forward, checks in at No. 117 as a three-star prospect. He’s being recruited by the likes of Texas A&M, Missouri, West Virginia, Louisville, Seton Hall, and several others.

The situation with No. 94 Billy Richmond, who announced a UK offer on Dec. 30, is interesting due to his connection with Calipari (Richmond’s father played under Calipari at Memphis) and suiting up for Camden HS, which rosters a pair of five-star Kentucky signees in DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw. He’ll be a player to watch over the course of the spring and into the summer to see how his future projects. Richmond went from unranked to a four-star recruit in this update.

You can find the entire updated Top 150 here.