Transfer Bio Blast: Divine Ugochukwu

Mark Pope still has a spot or two to play with as he looks to round out his 2025-26 Kentucky roster. A new target on the Wildcats’ Big Board is Miami (FL) transfer Divine Ugochukwu.

Ugochukwu is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound combo guard who spent his freshman season with the Hurricanes. He started 16 of 28 games for a Miami team that struggled all season and finished with a 7-24 overall record. The Texas native averaged 5.3 points, 2.3 assists, 1.9 rebounds, and one steal in 20.2 minutes per outing. He shot 48.3 percent from the field, just 17.6 percent from deep, and 63 percent from the free throw line.

Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ reports that Kentucky assistant coach Mikhail McLean is the one who reached out to Ugochukwu. This interest is relatively new. UK is the market for another depth piece in the backcourt following the unexpected departure of Travis Perry via the portal. Could Ugochukwu fill that void? He’s ranked as the 240th-best player (and 20th-best combo guard) to enter his name into the portal this offseason, according to On3.

Assistant coach Mikhail McLean has been in contact from Kentucky. https://t.co/7S6uKgm4r7

— Jacob Polacheck (@PolacheckKSR) April 29, 2025

Let’s get to know him better through another edition of KSR’s Transfer Bio Blast.

An under-the-radar high school recruit

Ugochukwu was not nationally ranked by On3 out of Clements (TX) High School. 247Sports and ESPN considered him a three-star recruit and a borderline top 20 prospect from the state of Texas. At Clements, he posted per-game averages of 17.1 points, 5.7 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals throughout his four-year career. He was named TABCC 6A All-Region III Team as a senior after leading Clements to a 32-1 record. Ugochukwu was also a finalist for the Guy V. Lewis Award, which goes to the top boys basketball player from the Houston area.

Recruited by Miami’s now-former head coach Jim Larrañaga, Ugochukwu chose the Hurricanes over the likes of Baylor, West Virginia, and Xavier. In an interview with On3’s CaneSport, he credited Larrañaga as the main reason for his commitment. Larrañaga referred to him as a “high-IQ point guard with elite athleticism and a great feel for the game.” But once Larrañaga announced his sudden retirement back in December, Ugochukwu elected not to stick around and play for new head coach (and former Kentucky assistant) Jai Lucas in 2025-26.

Finding his footing down the stretch

It wasn’t a great start to Ugochukwu’s college career (or Miami’s season, for that matter). He came off the bench in the Hurricanes’ first nine games of the season and failed to play more than 15 minutes in any of them. That being said, he still went for 15 points in his college debut against Fairleigh Dickinson before scoring 12 points against Coppin State a couple of games later.

Ugochukwu eventually wiggled his way into the starting lineup for a five-game stretch, but did not produce at the expected level. He was in and out of the starting lineup for a few games after that. But he was once again moved back into the starting lineup on Feb. 1, going for nine points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals in a win over Notre Dame.

He went on to start Miami’s final 10 games of the season in place of the injured Nigel Pack. During that span, Ugochukwu averaged 5.4 points, 3.4 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 29.1 minutes per contest. His shooting splits, however, left something to be desired: 36.2 percent from the field, 17.4 percent from deep, and 66.7 percent from the stripe. He went for 10 points and six rebounds against Louisville and six points and 10 rebounds against Duke. He had 17 games with at least one steal and four with three or more.

Advanced Stat Profile: Divine Ugochukwu

Ugochukwu is at his best with a full head of steam barreling toward the rim. Over two-thirds of his shots as a true freshman came at the rim, which he converted at an above-average clip of 63 percent. But he struggled heavily to score outside the paint, shooting 3-9 on the season on “Far 2s” and just 6-34 from beyond the arc. He did finish with 64 assists to 45 turnovers, but his turnover rate (26.2) was among the worst in the country.

Stat	Final	Ranking
Steal Percentage	3.0%	254th Nationally
2-Point Percentage	61%	192nd Nationally
Catch and Shoot	28 EFG%	5th Percentile Nationally
Ball Screen Handler	0.82 Points Per Possession	63rd Percentile Nationally
Transition	1.37 Points Per Possession	88th Percentile Nationally

Ugochukwu showed some flashes as a reliable pick-and-roll ball handler at Miami and was deadly in transition. Plenty of speed and athleticism make him a threat in the open floor. Ugochukwu is a work-in-progress, but could be worth the price if he’s willing to fill in at the end of Kentucky’s bench as a developmental piece.

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