Pro prediction comes in for Kentucky target Matas Buzelis

One of Kentucky’s top wing targets in the rising senior class is trending toward the G League.

Matas Buzelis, a five-star point forward out of Brewster Academy (NH), just picked up a Crystal Ball pick favoring the pro route from 247Sports recruiting expert Travis Branham.

Branham, who has an all-time hit percentage of 93.51% (144/154), submitted the pick late Friday evening. It’s currently the only prediction across all major recruiting services.

Buzelis, the No. 6 overall prospect and No. 1 small forward in the On3 player rankings, took an official visit to Kentucky back on December 21, 2021. He’s also taken officials to Florida State and Wake Forest. The 6-foot-10 wing cut his list to five back earlier this month, with Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida State, Wake Forest, and the NBA’s G-League Ignite remaining in contention.

Now, though, it appears the pro route is trending for the five-star prospect. Branham sat down with KSR during NewsRadio 630 WLAP’s Sunday AM Sports Talk last week and made it clear that while Kentucky was still fighting for Buzelis’ services, the G League is making the biggest push.

“With Matas, I actually think that the G League may be starting to separate as the leader in his recruitment,” Branham told KSR. “He is down to five (option) and Kentucky is heavily involved, they’re going to keep working on him, but I think that one is heading down the path of the G League.”

Elsewhere, Kentucky just hosted five-star forward Ron Holland on an official visit, making his way to campus from June 13-15. The Wildcats are in “pretty good shape” for the 6-foot-8, 200-pound standout from Duncanville, TX, Arkansas and the G League are also firmly in the thick of things.

“With Ron coming on campus for a visit, Kentucky is in pretty good shape there,” Branham told KSR. “Any time you get an official, you’re in good shape. At the same time, I do believe Arkansas and the G League are going to be two big-time competitors in this recruitment.”

Kentucky has one commitment in 2023 in four-star guard Reed Sheppard, with five-star guard Rob Dillingham also expected to join the fold on June 24. The Wildcats are also pressing hard for five-star centers Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Kingsley, along with other targets such as DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, Xavier Booker and Andrej Stojakovic, among others.

That’s not even counting some other targets who could emerge in the coming months as other recruitments play out.

“They’ve got a lot of things burning in the fire, a lot of things to shape out,” Branham told KSR. “… They’re working on a lot of different things. They have their top priorities, and I don’t think we really know who else they’re going to get involved with until those priorities are (figured out) with guys like Ron Holland, Matas, Aaron Bradshaw, DJ (Wagner), you’re not going to see who those secondary targets are going to be for another few months when those recruitments start shaping out a little more.”

Dillingham’s decision next week should be a strong step in the right direction. From there, things get interesting.