4-Point Play: John Wall loves Kentucky, excited to build relationship with Mark Pope
All eyes are on North Florida’s Chaz Lanier and BYU’s Jaxson Robinson as they make their draft and/or portal decisions with Kentucky at the top of the priority list for both. For the former, it’s a battle between the Wildcats, BYU Cougars and home-state Tennessee Volunteers while the latter is strongly considering keeping his name in the NBA Draft. Should he withdraw, following his old coach in Mark Pope to Lexington is seen as the likely move if there is still room — and there is always room for the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year.
Things should move quickly for Lanier with all three visits wrapped up, a decision expected there in the coming days. As for Robinson, he has until May 29 to pull his name out of the draft and would begin his recruiting process from there, likely a quick one if it gets to that point.
It’s an important domino move for Pope and the Wildcats we’ll be following closely as the hours and days pass. Until then, though, how about a quick couple of updates elsewhere?
John Wall (still) rocks Kentucky blue
You may have seen the clip of John Wall meeting Mark Pope for the first time at EYBL Session III in Indianapolis this past weekend, the former Wildcat bringing the gap between Kentucky basketball generations in a single dap-up.
How did the exchange come together? Wall talked about it on his podcast this week, walking through how it unfolded and what was said between the two.
“It shocked me because I was just going to watch games, he was right there when I dapped someone up. He stood up and said, ‘What’s up?’ I said, ‘All respect to you, wish you the best of luck there. I’m always going to support the school, no matter what,'” Wall said. “Like, I love Coach Cal — I saw Cal when I was down there also, talked to him and talked to all the guys that were there that went with him. It’s just love for the school I played for. They’ve got love for me, I’m in the Hall of Fame there.”
He’ll always be a supporter of John Calipari for the impact he made on his basketball journey, just as he will be for the school that catapulted him into superstardom as the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.
“I still love Coach Cal, am still going to show respect to Coach Cal, I’m still going to go to games, but I also want to build a relationship with the new coach. That’s the school I went to and who I played for,” Wall added. “I met Coach Jason Hart, who was right there. He was like, ‘Don’t worry about it bro, we’re going to make sure you get all the gear. I’m going to get you all the gear that’s coming through.’ I thought that was cool, I respect it.
“Just to see them and build a relationship with ’em, get to know ’em a little bit, try to figure out how he’s got things going and the path he’s going with. It was all love and respect, we dapped each other up. I went to another game later on after I got some food, he was like, ‘Are you following me everywhere?’ I’m like, ‘No, you’re probably looking at a star player the same way I want to see the star player play [laughs].’ It was exciting to just get a little chemistry and build a relationship with him.”
Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno among USA Basketball invites
It’s going to be a big weekend in Colorado Springs as USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team training camp begins starting May 23. Among the 29 athletes invited? Several familiar names, including a number of Kentucky targets — and one former signee.
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Daniel Jacobsen, Morez Johnson Jr., Patrick Ngongba II, Jayden Quaintance and Derrion Reid will represent the graduating class of 2024. Quaintance, who previously signed with the Wildcats before backing out following Coach Cal’s departure and later signing with Arizona State.
As for 2025, that group is loaded with UK names to know, namely Nate Ament, Mikel Brown Jr., Jerry Easter II, Hudson Greer, Shelton Henderson, Jasper Johnson, Trey McKenney, Malachi Moreno and Caleb Wilson — all current targets for Pope and the Wildcats. Other attendees in the rising senior class include Darius Acuff Jr., Jeremiah Fears, Jeremiah Green, Jamier Jones, Nikolas Khamenia, Nyk Lewis, Jack McCaffery, Mazi Mosley, Xavion Staton, Meleek Thomas, Sadiq White and Sebastian Williams-Adams.
And to close things out, Alex Constanza, Kaden House and Kalek House will be there representing the 2026 class.
That 29-man group will ultimately be cut down to 12 before the team departs for the 2024 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup scheduled for June 3-9 in Buenos Aires.
Josh Harrellson re-signs with Saga Ballooners of Japan
Wondering what former Cat Josh Harrellson is up to? He’s back in Japan suiting up for the Saga Ballooners of the B1 League.
“I’m very excited to be returning to Saga next season,” the anchor of Kentucky’s 2011 Final Four run said. “I’m excited to see how well our team can do in a second season of B1,” he said. “Saga Arena is a wonderful place to play and Saga fans are very passionate. Looking forward to the success of the team and to seeing all the fans again for the 2024-25 season.”
The team announced his addition early Wednesday morning.
Watch the former Cat work in Japan.
Former Cats shine at the Draft Combine
Speaking of former Wildcats, how about some soon-to-be former Cats who are coming off a big week in Chicago at the NBA Draft Combine? They’re hoping to hear their names called at the draft in June with Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham seen as likely top-five selections, Justin Edwards a potential first-rounder and Antonio Reeves expected to slide in somewhere in the second — whether that’s deserved or not as a first-rounder in our hearts.
Check out how some of the Kentucky faithful performed in Chicago:
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