Kentucky hits home run with 5-star Ugonna Kingsley on official visit

Kentucky is in the driver’s seat to land 2022 five-star center Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso, who recently reclassified and will suit up during the 2022-23 college basketball season.

The 6-foot-11 center out of Nigeria is coming off an official visit to Kentucky, a trip that took place to open the NCAA live period on July 20. Rather than opening the in-person evaluation period at Peach Jam — Chin Coleman and KT Turner represented Kentucky to open the event — John Calipari stayed back in Lexington with Orlando Antigua in hopes of closing on the prized recruit. From there, Calipari flew to Peach Jam, while Antigua made his way to California for the adidas 3SSB Championships.

How did things go with Kingsley? In a trip that was wildly important for both sides — Kentucky was sacrificing valuable evaluation time, while the five-star center was looking to reclassify and enroll sooner rather than later — it was nothing short of a home run.

Sources tell KSR that Kingsley, now ranked No. 18 overall in On3’s 2022 player rankings, thoroughly enjoyed his time in Lexington and felt at home on campus. All of the boxes regarding facilities, coaching, roster construction and his path to the floor were checked off, with Kentucky’s vision for the standout center aligning with his own.

That vision? Come along at your own pace in year one, battling against Oscar Tshiebwe every day in practice and working with Kentucky’s strength and conditioning program — now led by S&C coach Brady Welsh — to get college-ready. The defense is there now, but Kingsley understands he is raw offensively and will need time to develop on that end of the floor. It’s why he’s favored the Wildcats’ pitch of patience and growth over immediate playing time at other schools.

Kentucky’s goal is to help him turn that potential into production behind the scenes before taking over a prominent role in the frontcourt in 2023-24.

The hope is Kingsley wouldn’t be needed until next season, with Tshiebwe, Daimion Collins and Lance Ware taking up the minutes at center in year one. Could he be used in spot minutes at times? Both sides would be open to it — there won’t be an off-limits tag on the 6-foot-11 center like there was with Shaedon Sharpe this past season — but it’s not a necessity. The immediate goal is to develop and get ready for next year. If he’s ready, though, they’re comfortable seeing what he can do.

What’s next for Kingsley? The five-star center is set to announce his commitment on August 1, with Kentucky seen as the heavy favorite less than one week away. Should he join the fold, though, sources tell KSR that he would not be able to join the Wildcats on their upcoming trip to the Bahamas.

While it’d be a great opportunity to see Kingsley in action and build early chemistry with teammates, there would simply be too many hurdles to clear in time before the trip. Instead, the focus would be on getting the 6-foot-11 center on campus, enrolled in classes, and acclimated to life as a student-athlete.

The good news? Kingsley’s academics are in order, with sources telling KSR that his reclassification is expected to come with zero hiccups. He may not be able to make the trip to the Bahamas, but it will be smooth sailing from there when the Wildcats return home and practice at the Joe Craft Center resumes.

The commitment has to come first, though, with August 1 set as the announcement date. Kingsley is set to choose between Kentucky, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as his primary options, with Kansas, LSU, Texas Tech, Illinois, Ole Miss, Georgetown, Georgia, Providence and California also extending scholarship offers.

He’s had his eye on the Wildcats, though, from the start.

“I’ve been wanting to go to Kentucky all my life, even before coming to the states,” Kingsley told On3 in June. “I don’t really know much about the school yet, but I know it is a good program for athletes, a lot of their guys are pros. I know Oscar Tshiebwe is also from (Africa), it means a lot he has had great success there.”

The expectation is that he’ll be getting to know Tshiebwe and the Kentucky basketball program quite a bit more in the very near future.