KSR Today: Final day of the Kentucky autograph tour while potential commitment looms

Good morning! I bid you the happiest of Sundays. What? Not so happy? Need a hug? Well, you’re in luck because it is National Share a Hug Day. Grab someone close to you and celebrate accordingly. That being said, Aaron Bradshaw and Reed Sheppard do not qualify as someone close enough where bodily embrace is acceptable. So, if you are heading out to the autograph tour today, be cool with just their signature on a basketball. A selfie at the most.

Then again, if you’re lucky, you might get your truck signed like one lucky fan with a Kentucky-themed pickup did yesterday.

Watching the team play at GLOBL Jam gave us the feeling that this program is back on track, but this autograph tour is bringing out the Big Blue Nation crazy in the best way possible, and giving us all true confidence that Kentucky really is back.

Name another fanbase that asks for their truck to be signed by college basketball players…#BBN, man. pic.twitter.com/kfol5uVI3g

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) July 29, 2023

Catch the final day of the La Familia autograph tour

Today is the last day to get your autographs in for this round of the La Familia autograph tour. Justin Edwards, Tre Mitchell, and Walker Horn will be at the Beaumont Center in Lexington from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. while Aaron Bradshaw, Reed Sheppard, Jordan Burks, and Grant Darbyshire will be at the Kroger in Versailles during the same time.

If you hustle, you might be able to pull off the doubleheader. You might even get lucky enough to catch other big names like Tyler Ulis or Jeff Sheppard, both of whom took pictures with fans yesterday.

Perhaps the biggest fan to come out in support of Jeff Sheppard was his son’s teammate, Jordan Burks. He took a photo with the former Final Four MVP as if he were a faithful member of Big Blue Nation back in 1998 instead of, you know, not being alive yet.

Reed was nice enough to snap a photo of his dad and the loyal fan.

Now Jordan Burks gets to meet the real Jeff Sheppard. https://t.co/UpcvbDQL84 pic.twitter.com/YpLqWG6oEG

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) July 29, 2023

Kentucky is still on commitment watch from European big man

Times have certainly changed from just a few weeks ago when Kentucky had just seven scholarship players on its roster. Not only has Calipari and staff added the likes of Tre Mitchell, Jordan Burks, and Joey Hart, they could be on the cusp of landing a projected first-round pick in the 2024 NBA draft.

3-point draining, shot block extraordinaire, 7-foot-2-inch Croatian center, Zvonimir Ivisic, wants to play college basketball in the United States, and what better place to do it than the University of Kentucky? Ugonna Onyenso went down with a broken foot in Toronto shortly after Aaron Bradshaw had foot surgery of his own, spurring the coaching staff to look for some big-man insurance, and they may have found it across the pond.

According to KSR’s own Scoop Lemond, Big Blue Nation may want to go ahead and learn how to pronounce his name correctly.

By the way, from the best I can tell, it’s ‘za-von-AH-meer ee-VA-shitz‘.

Unlike a normal high school recruit, things are a little more complicated in this scenario, considering Ivisic plays for a professional team. There is a minor buyout involved and Jack Pilgrim reports that his agent, Misko Raznatovic, is known as the Rich Paul of international basketball. However, assuming they can work out NIL money and eligibility, it might be a good time to sign up for KSR text alerts.

Jacob and Jerod Smith are football recruits to watch

The Smith twins, Jacob and Jarred, are top-100 four-star football recruits committed to Michigan. However, the Kentucky natives recently moved back to the Bluegrass state to play in Corbin for their senior year, and scuttlebutt from Matt Jones indicates Mark Stoops and company are gaining momentum when it comes to luring them away from the Wolverines.

“Kentucky might be about to flip these guys in the very near future,” Jones said on KSR last week.

Both Jacob Smith and Jerod Smith are edge rushers, so it would be interesting to see how their interest could affect Brian Robinson, another 2024 high-profile edge rusher with a Kentucky lean.

Ultimately, it is a good problem to have.

Jasper Johnson talks about Kentucky and possible reclassification

Lexington standout, Jasper Johnson, talked with Jack Pilgrim recently about his recruitment. The 2025 combo guard is hearing from the likes of Auburn, Kansas, and Indiana among others, but he speaks to either Coach Cal or Coach Antigua two to three times per week.

Jasper told KSR, “Coach Cal, he’s talking to me about the new playing style that they have. The past couple of years they haven’t really had the guard play that they wanted, so now he’s trying to get back to the old ways, you know? Letting his guards have the freedom to create and win games. That’s what I’m hearing.”

As far as reclassification, right now he’s sticking to the class of 2025, although he says moving up to 2024 is a possibility.

2024 5-star forward, Jayden Quaintance, says Kentucky seems like a good fit

One big-time recruit who did make the decision to reclassify from 2025 to 2024 is five-star forward, Jayden Quaintance. The 6-foot-10-inch, 225-pound athlete out of Word of God Academy (yep, the same place where John Wall played) received a Kentucky offer on his official visit back in June. Recently, he told KSR about what he thinks about the Wildcats:

“I went on an unofficial when I got the offer. It was definitely cool to talk to Coach Cal for like 30 minutes. Me, my dad and my little brother were all talking to him and we got to see a practice. It was cool to be down there. They seem interested and it seems like a good fit. So we’ll see.”

One unique thing about Quaintance is that, because of his age, he might not be eligible for the NBA draft until 2026, meaning whichever school lands him would get two years of his services. Not too bad for a potential future lottery pick.

As of now, Cincinnati, Missouri, Ohio State, and Washington are the teams to beat.