Enough to fill a whole team.
When the 2023-24 college basketball season tips off in November, there will be enough former Kentucky Wildcats playing elsewhere to fill out an entire roster. As of now, 11 ex-UK basketball players will be with other programs next season. If the still-deliberating Antonio Reeves decides to finish his college career at another school, that number would rise to 12. Obviously, at this point in the offseason, John Calipari could probably use a veteran or two from that bunch to fill out a 2023-24 Kentucky roster that, so far, includes only freshmen and sophomores among its scholarship players.But all these players have moved on from UK’s program, and — while they’ve had little team success after departing Lexington — several have turned into quality college basketball players and most are expected to play major roles for their current programs next season. Here’s a look at those 11 former Wildcats, where they are now, and their outlook for 2023-24.
DONTAIE ALLEN Current school: Western Kentucky Years at UK: 2019-22 Career so far: The former Kentucky Mr. Basketball from Pendleton County sat out his first year at UK due to injuries. He was a brief sensation in his first season on the court, coming out of nowhere to hit seven threes and score 23 points off the bench in a double-overtime win at Mississippi State (after scoring just seven points and appearing in only four games to that point in the 2020-21 season). Allen had a couple of other big games as a redshirt freshman, but he didn’t play much toward the end of the season and was used sparingly as a sophomore. He transferred to Western Kentucky and got off to a slow start there before emerging as one of the Hilltoppers’ top scorers midway through last season. He averaged 9.3 points and shot 37.6 percent on threes for WKU in 2022-23.
Outlook for 2023-24: Allen will look to build on his solid ending to last season with an even better showing next season, and the Toppers will be going through a period of transition with Rick Stansbury out as head coach and Steve Lutz now in charge of the program. WKU won’t be projected as an NCAA Tournament team, but Allen should get plenty of opportunities to be one of the program’s best players this season.
DEVIN ASKEW Current school: California Years at UK: 2020-21 Career so far: Maligned as the freshman point guard on Kentucky’s ill-fated 2020-21 team, Askew left for Texas after that season but ended up playing about half the minutes with the Longhorns, averaging just 2.1 points per game. He then moved to Cal, where he was the only double-digit scorer (15.5 points per game) on one of the worst teams in Division I basketball (a 3-29 record).
Outlook for 2023-24: New head coach Mark Madsen takes over the Bears’ program, and Askew should once again be a featured player on the team. A wave of incoming transfers — including Jaylon Tyson (Texas Tech), Fardaws Aimaq (Texas Tech), Mike Meadows (Portland State), Keonte Kennedy (Memphis) and Jalen Cone (Northern Arizona) — should see Cal improve, but the Bears are still unlikely to be an NCAA Tournament team.
JEMARL BAKER Current school: New Mexico Years at UK: 2017-19 Career so far: Baker was a lightly regarded recruit — by Calipari’s five-star standards — out of high school, sat his first year in Lexington with an injury and didn’t play much (9.1 minutes per game) as a redshirt freshman. He left UK for Arizona, where he broke into the rotation in his first year (2019-20) and then was averaging 12.0 points per game before a wrist injury ended his 2020-21 season. Baker then transferred to Fresno State, where he played just five games in his first season due to a knee injury. He averaged 12.5 points per game for the Bulldogs last season, but he’s since transferred to New Mexico for the 2023-24 campaign.
Outlook for 2023-24: Yes, Baker, who turns 25 years old next week, is still in college. He should be an important piece for a Lobos team that started last season 14-0 before skidding to an 8-10 league mark in the Mountain West Conference. Coach Richard Pitino’s program brings in some transfers and returns its top two scorers and will be led by Jamal Mashburn Jr. — son of the UK basketball great — so there could be some realistic postseason hopes here.
KEION BROOKS Current school: Washington Years at UK: 2019-22 Career so far: A star recruit, Brooks was a role player in year one with the Wildcats. The only UK returnee with any game experience as a sophomore, he averaged 10.3 points and a team-leading 6.8 rebounds per game (mostly off the bench) despite missing time due to injury during the 9-16 season of 2020-21, then started 33 games as a junior, averaging 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He transferred to Washington after that, and led the Huskies (16-16) with 17.7 points per game last season.
Outlook for 2023-24: Coach Mike Hopkins is back with Washington but likely on the hot seat heading into next season, which will be Brooks’ final year of college basketball. Fellow former UK player Sahvir Wheeler was the program’s top offseason acquisition and the Huskies will likely face an uphill climb to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
DAIMION COLLINS Current school: Louisiana State Years at UK: 2021-23
Career so far: A McDonald’s All-American out of high school, Collins came to Kentucky with tremendous upside but a still-growing, relatively raw skill set. He played just 7.5 minutes per game as a freshman but was projected as a possible breakout player in year two. Tragically, Collins’ father died unexpectedly at age 43 on the eve of the 2022-23 season, and the 19-year-old struggled through his sophomore year. He ultimately averaged 1.9 points and 1.9 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per game over 25 appearances.
Outlook for 2023-24: Collins was expected to look for a change of scenery after a trying final few months in Lexington, and he ended up transferring closer to his east Texas home, landing at LSU, which got off to a hot start last season under first-year coach Matt McMahon before finishing 14th and last in the Southeastern Conference with a 2-16 league record. Collins is one of a slew of talented and/or high-upside transfers — a group that includes ex-Vanderbilt player Jordan Wright — so LSU could end up being a lot better next season, though projecting the Tigers’ outlook is difficult at this stage in the calendar.
CAM’RON FLETCHER Current school: Florida State Years at UK: 2020-21 Career so far: After a frustrating freshman year at Kentucky — including leaving the program for a brief period following a courtside spat with Calipari during that tumultuous 2020-21 season — Fletcher transferred to Florida State to continue his college basketball career. He averaged 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game as a sophomore, then got off to a good start to his junior season — 10.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 29.1 minutes per game — before being sidelined for the rest of the campaign due to injury.
Outlook for 2023-24: Fletcher projects as one of the Seminoles’ top players when he returns, but FSU isn’t expected to make a ton of noise on the court following a 9-23 showing and 12th-place finish in the ACC last season.
CJ FREDRICK Current school: Cincinnati Years at UK: 2021-23 Career so far: The Kentucky Sweet 16 MVP for Covington Catholic as a senior in high school, Fredrick — a Cincinnati native — started his college career at Iowa, sitting his first year on campus due to injury and emerging as a two-year starter and one of the best three-point shooters in the country after that. He then transferred to Kentucky, sat out the 2021-22 season with another injury and was off to an OK start to the 2022-23 campaign before he was once again sidelined by injuries that persisted through the end of the season. Due to his past injuries and the extra year granted by the NCAA as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fredrick, who turns 24 next month, could still have two seasons of college eligibility remaining. He transferred to Cincinnati this offseason.
Outlook for 2023-24: The Bearcats move to the Big 12 this season, and Fredrick could be a key player for his hometown team, if he can stay healthy. The veteran guard is one of several intriguing transfers brought in by third-year coach Wes Miller, who also returns some quality players from last season’s team, which went 23-13 and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals. An NCAA Tournament berth — for the first time since 2019 — would not be a surprise.
