Kentucky Basketball Roster Tracker: Livingston declares, Ugonna back

Yesterday gave us two significant pieces of news regarding Kentucky Basketball’s 2023-24 roster. First, Chris Livingston declared for the NBA Draft. It wasn’t clear in the freshman’s announcement, but Kentucky confirmed that Livingston will maintain his eligibility in case he wants to return to school. He has until May 31 to make that decision.

A few hours later, Ugonna Onyenso announced he is returning to Kentucky for a sophomore season. Onyenso entering the transfer portal on April 5 was a surprise and a decision that was reportedly not his own. After a week of reflection, the talented freshman decided to follow his heart and come back to Kentucky, giving next season’s roster the rim protector it needs.

We likely won’t hear the fates of the three players testing the NBA Draft waters (Livingston, Antonio Reeves, Oscar Tshiebwe) for at least a month as they go through workouts and potentially the NBA Draft Combine (May 14-21). That leaves Daimion Collins and CJ Fredrick as the two big unknowns who have yet to announce any future plans.

Here’s an updated look at where we stand with Kentucky’s 2023-24 roster and what Jack Pilgrim is hearing behind the scenes. Previous intel will be marked as such, with new updates highlighted in red.

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Important Dates/Deadlines

• April 23: NBA Early Entry Deadline
• May 11: Transfer Portal closes (Date by which players must tell their school they’re leaving)
• May 14-21: NBA Draft Combine
• May 31: NCAA “Stay or Go” Deadline
• June 22: 2023 NBA Draft

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LEAVING (Confirmed)

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Jacob Toppin (F, Sr.) – NBA DRAFT – On March 31, Toppin announced he is declaring the NBA Draft and forgoing his eligibility. In his senior season at Kentucky, Toppin moved into a starting role and flourished, doubling his point and rebounding totals. He is not listed on any of the major mock drafts.

• 2022-23 season: 12.4 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 31.5 MPG
• 2021-22 season: 6.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 17.7 MPG
• 2020-21 season: 5.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 17.1 MPG

Cason Wallace (G, Fr.) – NBA DRAFT – As expected, Cason Wallace announced on April 1 he will enter the draft and stay in. A projected lottery pick, Wallace was hampered by injuries throughout his freshman season, but still shined, especially after assuming the starting point guard role.

• 2022-23 season: 11.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, 3.7 RPG, 2.0 SPG, 32.1 MPG

Sahvir Wheeler (PG, Sr.) – TRANSFER PORTAL – Wheeler entered the transfer portal on March 27, bringing his two-year career in Lexington to an end. Due to injuries, he only played 21 games this season, eventually as a backup to Cason Wallace. John Calipari confirmed that Wheeler wants one more season elsewhere as a fresh start.

• 2022-23 season: 7.7 PPG, 5.6 APG, 2.3 RPG, 28.5 MPG
• 2021-22 season: 10.1 PPG, 6.9 APG, 2.6 RPG, 31.2 MPG

Pilgrim’s Intel: Wheeler recently wrapped up a visit to Georgia and a return to Athens to close out his collegiate career remains on the table. Kansas State was an early favorite thanks to a prior connection on the coaching staff in Ulric Maligi, who was previously on staff at Texas A&M when he signed with the Aggies out of high school — he later backed out due to a coaching change and ultimately enrolled at Georgia. Washington remains interested and other visits are possible for the 5-foot-9 point guard. He’s looking for a starting role for his final year of eligibility.

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TESTING

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Antonio Reeves (G, Sr.) – Reeves announced on April 4 he will test the waters of the NBA Draft, leaving open the option to return. In his first season in Lexington, the Illinois State transfer was Kentucky’s second-leading scorer and, by season’s end, carried the Cats offensively on more than one occasion.

• 2022-23 season: 14.4 PPG (41.6% FG, 39.8% 3PT), 2.1 RPG, 1.1 APG, 27.9 MPG

Pilgrim’s Intel: Reeves’ decision will come down to what makes the most sense financially, a mindset that favors a return to Lexington. While the Chicago native is 22 years old and had a strong senior campaign at Kentucky, it wasn’t enough to make a real dent in the draft boards. NBA scouts are pessimistic Reeves has a real shot at getting drafted and may even struggle to find a two-way deal — they love his knack for scoring, but question consistency and defense overall. He made six figures this past season in Lexington and would almost certainly make more in his final year of eligibility as a Wildcat.

A two-way deal this past season in the NBA was worth half of the rookie minimum salary, a smooth $502,000. That would be enough to push Reeves to the league, his ultimate goal and lifelong dream. He knows his career clock is ticking and there’s some pressure to strike while the iron is hot. But scouts believe he’d likely earn an Exhibit 10 deal, one that would allow him to participate in a franchise’s training camp on a standard one-year, non-guaranteed minimum contract in hopes of later earning a two-way. If waived — the typical path — they can earn a bonus of up to $50K to sign with that franchise’s G-League affiliate on top of the minimum $40K salary.

Reeves would be somewhere in the middle back at Kentucky thanks to NIL. Make good money, develop another season under John Calipari, make a push for the draft next summer in a weak class overall. That’s the school’s pitch as he goes through this process.

There are pros and cons to both options, but a solid spot overall for the senior guard to be in as he weighs each. NBA teams believe he’ll ultimately decide to come back for one final season at UK — and that’s the school’s hope, as well.

Oscar Tshiebwe (C, Sr.) – The reigning national player of the year returned to Kentucky for a senior year, but a preseason knee procedure prevented him from reaching full health until midway through. That said, we still got glimpses of his dominant form, and, of course, huge heart. Although his NBA stock is not high, Oscar was Kentucky’s biggest NIL earner this past season.

• 2022-23 season: 16.5 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 1.6 APG, 1.0 BPG, 33.5 MPG
• 2021-22 season: 17.4 PPG, 15.1 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 1.6 BPG, 31.9 MPG

Pilgrim’s Intel: Tshiebwe’s decision is quite complicated. Officially testing the draft waters, the star center would like to turn pro if the right opportunity presents itself, but will it? There’s a real chance he goes undrafted, likely earning a two-way contract as a free agent. And he’s making life-changing money at Kentucky — several million this past season, multiple sources tell KSR. Those in his camp have sniffed around to see what he’d be able to make in the transfer portal and that possibility has been considered, but the reality is that even with NIL dollars spread out among the incoming freshmen and the “reigning national player of the year” buzz fading a bit, it still wouldn’t touch what he’d make by returning to Lexington for one final season. Factor in the appeal of one more shot at an actual run in March, and there’s real intrigue there.

Tshiebwe wants to give the draft process a real shot because that’s his ultimate dream. And Kentucky will support that if that’s what he decides to do — the pro route is what they expected him to choose from the beginning, after all.

UK has no interest in getting into a bidding war and will not make any financial guarantees, but the program’s ongoing NIL results speak for themselves, creating endless opportunities the legal way. And no one has benefitted more than the star center, locally or nationally. After some initial pushback on Tshiebwe’s side, the door has reopened for a potential return to Kentucky with that in mind.

Chris Livingston (F, Fr.) – Livingston’s development was one of the storylines of the second half of the season. The five-star freshman hit his stride in February, playing at least 32 minutes in 11 straight games to finish the season and scoring in double figures in five of those contests. By season’s end, he was one of the key pieces of Kentucky’s lineup and could be again next year.

• 2022-23 season: 6.3 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 0.7 APG, 22.4 MPG

Pilgrim’s Intel: Kentucky is recruiting Livingston back to school, but NBA teams believe the freshman forward is set on keeping his name in the draft after testing the waters. That’s the fear on the school’s side, as well, with Klutch (led by superagent Rich Paul) being the driving force of that decision. His draft announcement this week didn’t do much to build optimism — “I’m declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft,” he wrote, no mention of maintaining eligibility or weighing a return. “It’s only up from here.”

The school had to clarify in a press release he was keeping his options open, with John Calipari adding that he’s “excited for Chris and his family to go through this part of the process on his journey.”

Kentucky believes Livingston could return and catapult himself back to lottery status next draft cycle. NBA scouts see that potential, too — certainly more than they envision him hearing what he’s looking for this go-round. The growing consensus, though, is the 6-foot-6 forward bets on himself and makes the jump.

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STAYING (Confirmed)

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Brennan Canada (G, Sr.) – Canada announced on March 30 he will use the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility for COVID relief to return for a super-senior season. After three and a half seasons as a walk-on, the Mt. Sterling (KY) native earned a scholarship from John Calipari in January 2023. He provides invaluable leadership as a teammate in practice and off the court.

Ugonna Onyenso (F, Fr.) – Onyenso entered the transfer portal on April 5 but removed his name on April 12, announcing he will return to school. He was a late addition to the roster and came to Lexington with the intent of using his freshman year to learn under Oscar Tshiebwe and Kentucky’s other bigs to prepare for the 2023-24 season. Onyenso never really cracked Kentucky’s rotation but when he did play, showed flashes of promise.

• 2022-23 season: 2.5 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 6.9 MPG

Pilgrim’s Intel: The 6-foot-11 center officially withdrew from the transfer portal on Thursday and announced his return to Kentucky, a major win for the Wildcats after a difficult back-and-forth with those in Onyenso’s camp. At the end of the day, the freshman out of Owerri, Nigeria wanted to be in Lexington all along and believes in John Calipari’s vision for his future. Those around Onyenso explored NIL possibilities elsewhere in hopes of cashing in on the standout defender’s upside, but quickly realized the money he was already making at Kentucky, along with the anticipated role he’s expected to have in year two, simply didn’t compare.

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STAYING (Expected)

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Lance Ware (F, Jr.) – Ware continues to play a reserve role as Kentucky’s enforcer and was named a team captain alongside Jacob Toppin in the postseason. A leader in the locker room, Ware could reunite with his former Camden teammate DJ Wagner if he stays in Lexington for another year.

• 2022-23 season: 2.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 9.9 MPG
• 2021-22 season: 1.5 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 6.3 MPG
• 2020-21 season: 2.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 12.1 MPG

Pilgrim’s Intel (April 4): No indications that Ware is considering a change of scenery.

Adou Thiero (G, Fr.) – Thiero is the son of Almamy Thiero, who played for John Calipari at Memphis (2002-05). A late bloomer, the four-star prospect caught Calipari’s eye in March 2022 and committed to Kentucky in May. Thiero played sparingly this season but was thrust into a featured role late in the year due to injuries in the backcourt. It’s assumed he will return to Kentucky for a sophomore season, but nothing has been announced.

• 2022-23 season: 2.3 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 APG, 9.7 MPG

Pilgrim’s Intel (April 8): The freshman guard’s father, Almamy Thiero, tells KSR his son is expected to return to Kentucky for his sophomore campaign, but no official announcement has been made.

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COMING IN

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Aaron Bradshaw (C, HS) – Bradshaw committed to Kentucky during his visit to Big Blue Madness in October 2022. The versatile 7-footer is teammates with fellow future Cat DJ Wagner and showed off some impressive shooting skills in practices at the McDonald’s All-American Game, which could back up his comments that John Calipari plans to use him at the three-position at Kentucky.

• 2022-23 season (HS): 12.0 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.4 BPG

Robert Dillingham (CG, OTE) – Dillingham is taking a different path to Lexington than his fellow freshmen. The five-star combo guard left Kanye West’s Donda Academy for Overtime Elite in November 2022. As such, he wasn’t eligible to play in the all-star circuit with the rest of the signees.

• 2022-23 season (OTE): 14.7 PPG, 4.9 APG, 3.5 RPG, 2.5 SPG

Justin Edwards (SF, HS) – Edwards chose Kentucky over rival Tennessee last July. The crafty wing led Imhotep Charter to its second straight state championship. He is the highest-ranked member of Kentucky’s 2023 class per the On3 Industry Ratings and hasn’t shied away from high expectations for next year’s team, telling reporters at the McDonald’s All-American Game that the incoming freshmen believe they can lead the Cats to a title.

• 2022-23 season (HS): 17.9 PPG (57.8% FG, 34.1% 3PT), 7.5 RPG

Reed Sheppard (CG, HS) – The North Laurel star and son of former Kentucky Basketball greats Jeff and Stacey Sheppard became the program’s first 2023 commit in November 2021. Since then, he led North Laurel to two straight Boys’ Sweet 16s and made the all-star circuit. A skilled combo guard, Sheppard can score at all three levels and seems ready to follow in his parents’ footsteps in Lexington.

• 2022-23 season (HS): 22.1 PPG (48.6% FG, 39.3% 3PT), 8.5 RPG

DJ Wagner (CG, HS) – Wagner was the final commit of the 2023 class, but was the first John Calipari pursued. Calipari coached Wagner’s father Dajuan Sr. at Memphis in 2001-02 and remains close with the family. Those ties and Kentucky’s stature helped the Cats hold off a push from Kenny Payne and Louisville, which hired DJ’s grandfather Milt to the staff in an advisory role. Wagner won East Team MVP honors at the McDonald’s All-American Game on March 28.

• 2022-23 season (HS): 22.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.9 APG

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UNKNOWN

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CJ Fredrick (G, R. Sr.) – After missing the 2021-22 season with a left hamstring injury, Fredrick battled injuries throughout the 2022-23 season too. The former Iowa transfer appeared in 27 games this season, missing time due to a dislocated finger and cracked ribs. For Fredrick, the decision is whether to hang it up or use the NCAA’s extra year of eligibility in hopes of one full, healthy season at Kentucky.

• 2022-23 season: 6.1 PPG (35.1% FG, 31.8% 3PT), 1.5 APG, 22.2 MPG

Pilgrim’s Intel (April 8): Fredrick openly discussed the possibility of him retiring from basketball following Kentucky’s loss to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament. He’s dealt with both serious and nagging injuries over the course of his career, keeping him off the floor far more often than he’d like. The wear-and-tear has been hard on the senior guard, and it’s why hanging up his uniform for good is on the table. That being said, Fredrick is ultra-competitive and the possibility of having his first injury-free offseason where he can focus on training rather than rehab is an intriguing one.

He’s taken some time away to clear his mind and consider his options, but there’s a growing expectation that he’ll likely suit up again. Where will that be? He could decide to hit the portal again — a long list of interested suitors would be waiting — or even turn pro and play overseas, but those around the program believe a return to Kentucky is the likely path.

Daimion Collins (F, So.) – Collins was primed for a breakout sophomore season before life stepped in the way. In early November, Collins’ father, Ben, unexpectedly passed away while visiting his son in Lexington. After taking some time with his family, Collins returned to the team and slowly worked his way into the rotation.

• 2022-23 season: 1.9 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 BPG, 7.9 MPG
• 2021-22 season: 2.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.7 BPG, 7.5 MPG

Pilgrim’s Intel (April 8): Though he’s developed a strong support system in Lexington, the expectation remains that Collins will ultimately decide to enter the portal and transfer closer to home in Texas. If it were a basketball decision alone, he wouldn’t think twice about a return to Kentucky, but this is bigger than basketball and the sophomore forward has to put his family first. A move home puts him in a better position to do that.