Louisville hosting Kentucky targets Jayden Quaintance, Aly Khalifa on Thursday

Both Kentucky and Louisville men’s basketball are entering new eras, but the rivalry between the two in-state schools will never go away — and that includes on the recruiting trail.

Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey is expected to host a pair of Kentucky targets on Thursday. 24/7 High School Hoops reports that five-star high school senior Jayden Quaintance will visit the Cardinals while TheFieldOf68’s Jeff Goodman reports that BYU transfer Aly Khalifa will do the same.

Quaintance was the highest-ranked recruit of Kentucky’s 2024 class under former head coach John Calipari, checking in at No. 8 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking. Once Calipari left Lexington for Arkansas, the 6-foot-10 Quaintance was released from his NLI with the Wildcats soon after. And while Kentucky remains in the mix with Mark Pope now at the helm, Quaintance is considering all of his options.

Arkansas, Florida, Louisville, and Kentucky expect to be among the group of schools (but not limited to) that Quaintance will consider, per On3’s Jamie Shaw. Remember, at 16 years old, he’ll be required to spend at least two years post-high school before making the leap to the NBA.

As for Khalifa, the rising senior spent the 2023-24 season at BYU under Pope and it was quickly assumed that Kentucky would be the landing spot once he went into the transfer portal on April 12. However, Khalifa is going to weigh his options. The 6-foot-11 big man is down to three finalists: Kentucky, Louisville, and a return to BYU, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.

Keep in mind that BYU recently hired Kevin Young to replace Pope as head coach. Young is considered a rising star in the coaching business, having been an NBA assistant since 2016. Khalifa also went into the portal with a “do not contact” tag, although that was before news of Young to BYU broke.

After starting his college career at Charlotte (2021-23), Khalifa transferred to BYU last offseason. He started 26 of 29 games for the Cougars in 2023-24, averaging 5.7 points, four assists, and 3.7 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per outing.