UK reaches out to Louisville decommit Bryce Hopkins

The Kentucky Wildcats have a new name to watch for on the recruiting trail.

It comes in the form of four-star forward Bryce Hopkins, who just decommitted from the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday.

Rivals analyst Travis Graf says that Kentucky is among the schools who’ve already reached out to the talented forward since he became available.

The 6-7, 220-pound recruit plays at Fenwick High School in Illinois. He currently holds offers from Kansas, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Nebraska among others while being ranked 33rd nationally in the 2021 class by 247 Sports Composite.

ESPN and Rivals classify Hopkins as a small forward, while 247 Sports has him pegged as a power forward.

247 Sports recruiting expert Evan Daniels compared Hopkins to former Iowa State star and current Jazz forward Georges Niang while offering this scouting report:

“A versatile prospect, Hopkins is best utilized as a face up forward, but he has the skill to play out on the perimeter at the three-spot. Hopkins grew to 6-7 during his junior season and his body has continued to progress. He has an impressive feel for the game, a good skill set and is an aggressive scorer that can score it from all three-levels. Hopkins is particularly effective out of the high post, where he can make plays off the dribble or make the right pinpoint pass. Hopkins is also an active rebounder that gets on the backboard and is capable of grabbing a board and starting the break. On the flip side, Hopkins lacks consistency as a long-range threat, and is just an OK athlete.”

For what it’s worth, Hopkins told 247 Sports that the “uncertainties on what is going on with the sanctions” regarding Louisville basketball are why he is reopening his recruitment. Louisville received a notice of allegations from the NCAA in May alleging one Level I and three Level II allegations. Those are from the Rick Pitino era and related to the pay-for-play allegations with former Louisville signee Brian Bowen.

Check out some highlights of Hopkins in action:

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