“Nothing has really changed” in recruiting amid UK’s down year

With the Kentucky Wildcats going through their worst season in recent memory, it’d make sense to be concerned with how their struggles may affect recruiting.

While Kentucky is one of if not the biggest stage in college basketball, sitting at 4-9 with no clear NBA Draft picks from this year’s roster may not appeal to recruits living in the moment.

Assistant coach Joel Justus, who plays a key role in recruiting, does not seem worried.

In a press conference via Zoom, Friday Justus said, “nothing has really changed” when it comes to recruiting elite talent during a year the current roster has struggled.

“For us, I think that nothing has really changed whether we were 13- 0, or 0-0, or whatever,” Justus said. “We have a great product here, and our thing is to continue to communicate that to families and people that want to come here, that want to be built different, that want to be on the greatest stage, to come to a world-class university and challenge themselves every day. So, it’s more about I think when you’re recruiting the individual, the family and you get to the bottom of what they want to become.”

The Wildcats currently have just three high school recruits signed for 2021 in five-star forward Damion Collins, four-star forward Bryce Hopkins, and four-star guard Nolan Hickman.

They have also signed West Virginia transfer and former All-Big 12 Freshman Forward Oscar Tshiebwe, and have a commitment from 2022 five-star guard Skyy Clark, who is still a candidate to reclassify the 2021 class.

Thus, Kentucky’s still in decent shape building for the future. But with more holes to fill, especially for a shooter, it’ll be interesting to see how the class rounds out.