Heartbreak: Kentucky basketball greatest player of all time has finally announce his leaving due comeback of…
Jordan Burks of Kentucky is going to use the college basketball transfer website.
After a year with the team, the 6-foot-8 forward from Decatur, Alabama, will be leaving Lexington. He is the last player from John Calipari’s final season with the Wildcats to unveil the next phase in his basketball career.
Burks played in 20 of Kentucky’s 33 games as a freshman last season, averaging 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.1 minutes. With UK’s three 7-footers, Aaron Bradshaw, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Ugonna Onyenso, all starting on the bench, he started the season as a backup post player. Burks’ playing time decreased after those three players made their season debuts in December and January, respectively, with Bradshaw and Onyenso and Ivisic.
Burks played no more than seven minutes in any game after conference play started, with the exception of his 13 points in 15 minutes against Vanderbilt on February 6 – UK won that one 109-77 on a night when the entire squad joined in on the fun. On February 24, during Kentucky’s 117-95 victory over Alabama at Rupp Arena, Burks played his final three minutes on the court without scoring a point.
He did not participate in either of UK’s two postseason games, which were losses to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament and Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament.
After 15 seasons at UK, Calipari moved to take a position as head coach at Arkansas. Mark Pope, a former BYU coach, will take Calipari’s place.
a significant roster overhaul to complete in time for the 2024–2025 campaign.
As a high school recruit, Burks had committed to Ole Miss, but he later changed his mind after Chris Beard was chosen to take over the Rebels’ program after Kermit Davis was fired after the 2022–2023 season.
Burks was ranked No. 178 overall in the 247Sports composite rankings from the previous year, and he was ranked No. 38 as a small forward in the 2023 class by 247Sports. Burks did not have a national ranking from that recruiting service.
Burks’ choice was prompted by national freshman of the year Reed Sheppard’s announcement on Thursday that he will forgo his final three years of college and join the NBA draft, where he is expected to be selected as a lottery pick.
suitability. These were the final two scholarship players from the 2023–24 team who had not yet disclosed their basketball futures to the public.
Justin Edwards and Rob Dillingham have already submitted draft declarations. Onyenso, who is expected to be selected in the second round, is also a draft participant and has no intention of attending college.
The transfer destinations for Bradshaw (Ohio State) and Ivisic (following Calipari to Arkansas) for the upcoming season have already been revealed. Joey Hart, a reserve player in his rookie year, would play for Ball State the following year. Adou Thiero and D.J. Wagner have also accessed the transfer portal, but they haven’t decided what to do next yet.
Thiero’s last five alternatives include going back to Kentucky. The other educational institutions on his
list include Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Indiana, and Arkansas, where he would reunite with Calipari.
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