UK's Bradshaw enters portal, as Knox decommits
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Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer
The roster fallout from coach John Calipari’s decision to leave Kentucky for Arkansas began Monday, as Kentucky freshman Aaron Bradshaw entered the transfer portal and top-25 recruit Karter Knox decommitted from the Wildcats and reopened his recruitment.
Bradshaw had considered transferring out of the program before news of Calipari’s expected departure, sources told ESPN, after an up-and-down first season in Lexington.
Knox will still consider Kentucky once it hires Calipari’s replacement, his father told ESPN, and Arkansas will also be under consideration.
A McDonald’s All American in the 2023 class, Bradshaw was ranked No. 6 in the ESPN 100 coming out of high school. However, a foot injury last spring forced him to miss the entire offseason and delayed his Kentucky debut until early December.
Bradshaw showed flashes of his potential early on, putting up 17 points and 11 rebounds against Penn in the second game of his career. He also had 12 points in a win over North Carolina and hit double figures in scoring five times in his first nine games. He was inserted into the starting lineup almost immediately, coming off the bench for two games and then starting the next 10.
Over the final two months of the season, though, Bradshaw saw his role diminish. He played double-digit minutes just five times in the final 14 games of the season, seeing just six total minutes in two games in the SEC and NCAA tournaments.
Bradshaw finished his freshman season averaging 4.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 13.8 minutes.
Knox was one of six ESPN 100 prospects in Kentucky’s No. 2-ranked 2024 recruiting class. Ranked No. 24 in the class, Knox committed to the Wildcats just last month, choosing them over a final list that also included Louisville, USF and a return to the Overtime Elite program.
Knox is a younger brother of Kevin Knox II, who played his college ball for Calipari at Kentucky, while another older brother of Karter’s, Kobe, currently plays at South Florida.
The other five members of Kentucky’s class — five-stars Jayden Quaintance and Boogie Fland and four-stars Billy Richmond, Somto Cyril and Travis Perry — have not yet announced any changes to their plans.
