Adem Bona down to 8 schools, Kentucky makes cut

Adem Bona’s connection with the Kentucky coaching staff has ramped up in the public eye over the last few months, culminating with a scholarship offer from the Wildcats on Aug. 17.

Since then, the momentum has not slowed down. Bona was initially expected to take an official visit to Kentucky this past weekend but postponed that trip with his eyes reportedly set on attending Big Blue Madness in October. That news broke last week–and now Bona is down to just eight programs, one of which is UK.

According to Joe Tipton of On3, Bona, a 6-foot-10 five-star center from the class of 2022, has narrowed his list to Arizona State, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, the NBL, Miami (FL), UCLA, and Southern California. Tipton also reports that Bona turned down one- and two-year deals to play in the newly established Overtime Elite league.

2022 elite center Adem Bona is down to eight options, he tells @On3Recruits.

Arizona State, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, NBL, Miami, UCLA and USC make the cut.

Story: https://t.co/qReR8HLewC pic.twitter.com/R0QVdUGWBO

— Joseph Tipton (@TiptonEdits) August 30, 2021

Also in Tipton’s report is Adem Bona’s upcoming visit schedule for the rest of the summer and into the fall. He’ll participate in a Zoom call with the NBL on Sept. 1 before unofficially visiting USC on Sept. 10. Then the official visits kick off with Kansas on Sept. 17, Baylor on Sept. 24, Kentucky on Oct. 1 (Big Blue Madness is scheduled for Oct. 15), and UCLA on Oct. 22.

Tipton adds that Miami (FL) is likely to be his fifth and final official visit with an unofficial visit to Arizona State expected at some point, as well. Bona holds additional offers the likes of Arkansas, Houston, Georgia, Mississippi State, LSU, Auburn, Utah, BYU, Creighton, Marquette, Washington, and Illinois.

Kentucky appears to be in a great position with Bona as of today. Recruiting services have been logging predictions for Bona to land with Kentucky since the middle of August.

“Kentucky, I’ve been in contact with them for a while,” Bona told KSR in July. “I have a great relationship with the coaches, the coaching staff, everyone. Looking back on Kentucky, they have a great history, send players to the pros and teach them winning ways. I’m all about that.”

Bona performed quite well over the summer at the NBPA Top 100 Camp and was a steady contributor for Turkey in the 2021 U19 FIBA World Cup. If you want to know more about the type of player that Bona is, make sure to check out our film room post on him.

It would have been nice to get Bona to Lexington for Big Blue Madness, however him showing up a couple of weeks earlier shouldn’t have much of (if any) effect on his desire to come to Kentucky or not.

The ‘Cats and head coach John Calipari are in good shape here.