Unexpected: news from Kentucky, Freshman Jordan remaining Wildcat on scholarship, enters transfer portal..
According to On3’s Jamie Shaw, Burks has entered the transfer portal.
The class of 2023 signee becomes the final player to either declare for the NBA Draft or enter the transfer portal, leaving Kentucky with no players returning from last season as of now.
Burks joined Kentucky as a 4-star recruit last season after playing for Hillcrest Prep in the Overtime Elite league. In 20 appearances, he finished his lone season in Lexington averaging 1.9 points (60% shooting) and 1.7 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per game.
Burks certainly flashed potential, including his 13-point effort on 6/6 shooting in the road win at Vanderbilt, but he was buried on the bench for most of the season. He was viewed as a long-term developmental piece that was likely to return had John Calipari not left for the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Alas, the rebuild continues for new head coach Mark Pope, who does not have a transfer or returning player committed for next season. There’s still a chance Adou Thiero returns, but outside of that, Kentucky is going to have a brand-new roster from top to bottom. We’ll likely see 10+ new scholarship players wearing a Kentucky jersey come this fall.
Best of luck to Jordan as he looks for a new college home!.
With Kentucky star freshman Reed Sheppard declaring for the NBA Draft and Joey Hart transfering to Ball State on Thursday, new coach Mark Pope won’t have much experience returning from last season on the 2024-25 roster.
Earlier this week, four-star guard Billy Richmond decommitted from the Wildcats’ once-heralded recruiting class a few hours after four-star guard and former BYU signee Collin Chandler committed to the Wildcats and became the program’s first commitment under Pope. The 6-foot-4 guard ranked as a top-40 prospect in the Class of 2022 before spending two years on a Mormon mission. This upcoming season will mark his freshman year.
Pope, who spent the past five seasons as BYU’s coach, played at UK under Rick Pitino from 1994 to 1996 and was a key part of the program’s 1996 national title run. With most of Kentucky’s 2023-24 roster either out of eligibility, in the transfer portal or headed to the NBA Draft, his first order of business is building a roster for next season.
