Kentucky showing interest in Or Ashkenazi, a three-year pro guard from Israel

Is Kentucky in the market for an international prospect?

According to On3’s Joe Tipton, the Wildcats are one of over a dozen schools that have expressed interest in three-year professional guard Or Ashkenazi out of Israel. The 6-foot-5, 21-year-old, who currently plays in the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is reportedly considering a move to the college ranks.

Kentucky assistant coach Mikhail McLean is who reached out to Ashkenazi’s agency, according to Jacob Polacheck of KSR+. Tipton reports that Auburn, Kansas State, Ohio State, Rutgers, Grand Canyon, Northern Illinois, Western Carolina, Cal Baptist, Bowling Green, Murray State, Davidson, and Marshall have shown interest in Ashkenazi, as well.

After three years playing professionally in Israel, 6-foot-5 shooting guard Or Ashkenazi is exploring the college route, per his agent Yuval Shaham (@yuval59).

The 21-year-old currently plays in the Israeli premier pro league. Currently garnering early interest from several high… pic.twitter.com/qOZ6JtG5Q6

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) December 30, 2024

Ashkenazi has spent all three of his professional seasons playing for Hapoel Eilat in Israel’s top-tier professional basketball league. His most productive campaign came in 2023-24 when he averaged 4.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals in 24.1 minutes per outing. Ashkenazi shot 35.8 percent from the field and 25 percent from deep.

I won’t sit here and pretend I know all of the rules and regulations that are in place for bringing a three-year professional basketball player from another country over to play college hoops, but there must be some sort of pathway to being cleared if so many colleges have already decided to reach out. We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out.