Live updates: Nike EYBL circuit returns in Atlanta with top Kentucky recruits in action
Grassroots basketball season is upon us, which means plenty of chances to see top Kentucky recruits in action across the country with their travel teams.
The 2023 Nike Elite Youth Basketball League circuit — which will conclude in July with the prestigious Peach Jam event — begins this weekend with its first session in Atlanta.
The Nike EYBL circuit will also make stops in Phoenix, Dallas and Memphis this spring and summer before Peach Jam.
Follow along below for live updates from the opening Nike EYBL session of the spring, with specific details about the performances of players UK head coach John Calipari is focusing on.
Calipari dishes out another scholarship offer on Sunday
Sunday represented the start of a seismic day for the future of the Kentucky men’s basketball program: It was the start of Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson’s recruiting visit to Lexington.
But while UK has priotized landing the nation’s most coveted player in the NCAA transfer portal, the Cats also spent Sunday establishing the building blocks in future recruiting classes.
Most notably, John Calipari extended a scholarship offer to class of 2024 combo guard Ahmad Nowell.
Both Calipari and Chin Coleman watched Nowell play on Sunday at the Nike EYBL session in Atlanta.
Nowell is a four-star recruit who is ranked as the No. 33 overall player in the 2024 class, per the 247Sports Composite.
Kentucky has also had plenty of in-person time to evaluate Nowell, who was a high school teammate of incoming Kentucky Wildcat Justin Edwards at Imhotep Institute in Philadelphia.
2024 guards emerge as clear priorities for Kentucky
With Kentucky’s entire coaching staff in Atlanta on Saturday for the first Nike EYBL session of the year, it became abundantly clear which players were being truly prioritized by the Wildcats.
Two names that kept coming up? Class of 2024 guards Boogie Fland and Tre Johnson.
UK went several coaches deep at each of their games, with Fland in particular responding to the pressure of the occasion. He scored 31 points on Saturday in another performance that signaled why he’s Kentucky’s top option at point guard in next year’s recruiting class.
An official visit for Fland to Kentucky appears to be on the horizon.
For his part, Johnson is UK’s top choice at shooting guard, and hasn’t done anything through two days in Atlanta to harm his case as the top-ranked player in the 2024 recruiting class.
Across three games so far, Johnson has made more than 44% of his three-pointers for his new travel basketball program, Houston Hoops.
Kentucky watches potential 2024, 2025 and 2026 prospects
Kentucky head coach John Calipari and assistant coach Chin Coleman made their way from Iowa to Atlanta overnight, and Kentucky’s full coaching staff was on hand for Saturday’s morning and early-afternoon games at the Nike EYBL Atlanta session.
Saturday’s activities so far saw Cal on hand for two priority 2024 recruits — Boogie Fland and Karter Knox — as well as several prospects that are a couple recruiting cycles away.
Among the underclassmen that Kentucky watched play were class of 2025 in-state star guard Jasper Johnson and center Jayden Quaintance, who made an impression earlier this month during Overtime Elite’s Pro Week.
Both players run on the Nike EYBL circuit with Team Thad.
UK was also on hand for a class of 2026 player, power forward Tyran Stokes, who scored 18 points and went 9-for-10 from the field in a Saturday morning win while playing up several age groups with his Vegas Elite team.
Kentucky’s Orlando Antigua and Bruiser Flint were on hand to watch the No. 1 recruit in the 2024 class, Tre Johnson, play on Friday night. Come Saturday, Antigua was joined by Calipari and Coleman to watch Johnson in action.
On Saturday afternoon, Kentucky also stopped in for another Team Final game in Atlanta.
Class of 2024 combo guard Ahmad Nowell of Team Final has been frequently visited by Calipari and company of late. He was a high school teammate of incoming UK Wildcat Justin Edwards.
UK looking to continue Camden connection with Billy Richmond
A February basketball showcase event in Frankfort brought the Camden (N.J.) High School team to the commonwealth, with the idea of providing UK fans with an advance look at future Wildcats Aaron Bradshaw and DJ Wagner.
But another player on that Camden team, class of 2024 shooting guard Billy Richmond, may also have a future for himself in Lexington.
Richmond’s father played for John Calipari at Memphis, and the younger Richmond is now ranked as a four-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite.
UK’s Orlando Antigua was on-hand in Atlanta to watch Richmond and his NJ Scholars travel team (the same travel program that Bradshaw and Wagner played for) win an overtime game against Team WhyNot, which features five-star class of 2024 shooting guard Isaiah Elohim.
Both Richmond (eight points) and Elohim (13 points and five assists) hold UK scholarship offers. Elohim appeared to suffer an injury near the end of the game, and remained down on the court for several minutes before limping off under his own power.
Also as part of the late slate of Nike EYBL games in Atlanta, Antigua stopped by to watch class of 2024 combo guard Ahmad Nowell.
A high-school teammate of incoming Kentucky Wildcat Justin Edwards, Nowell runs on the EYBL circuit with Team Final, which was also the same travel basketball program that Edwards played for.
Nowell, who doesn’t have a UK scholarship offer, led Team Final with 25 points, five assists and three steals in a high-scoring win over Oakland Soldiers. Nowell made four of his six three-point shots.
John Calipari looking at several five-star players on Adidas circuit
With Orlando Antigua and Bruiser Flint holding down the fort in Atlanta at the Nike EYBL session, UK head coach John Calipari and assistant coach Chin Coleman spent Friday night watching high-level UK prospects on the Adidas 3SSB circuit in Iowa.
The duo were pictured by Rivals’ Rob Cassidy watching five-star power forward Koa Peat, who is ranked as the No. 3 player in the class of 2025 by the 247Sports Composite.
Peat doesn’t yet have a Kentucky scholarship offer.
Earlier on Friday, Calipari spent time watching Flory Bidunga, whom the Wildcats have keyed in on as their potential big man of the future.
Bidunga plays on the Adidas 3SSB circuit with Indiana Elite and is considered the best big man in the 2024 class.
In-state Kentucky high school star Travis Perry also plays on Indiana Elite, and represents another talented 2024 player with a UK scholarship offer.
Kentucky coaches made road trips earlier this year to watch both Bidunga and Perry play with their respective high school teams.
Kentucky has front-row seats to Amier Ali, top 2024 player Tre Johnson
Kentucky’s Orlando Antigua and Bruiser Flint got a two-for-one value on Friday night in Atlanta, as the two UK coaches were courtside to watch a matchup between Houston Hoops and Nightrydas.
The Houston Hoops squad features a pair of 2024 players with UK scholarship offers: Four-star small forward Amier Ali and consensus five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson, who is the top-ranked player in the 2024 class, per the 247Sports Composite.
It was a victorious start to the grassroots season for Houston Hoops, as Ali provided 12 points and six rebounds while Johnson had 12 points and five rebounds.
Also in the same game window at the Nike EYBL session, Woodford County’s Jasper Johnson had nine points and three assists as he made his grassroots season debut with Team Thad.
Karter Knox scores 20 points in big Florida Rebels win
The recruitment of Karter Knox — a UK legacy — seems likely to boil down to the commonwealth’s preeminent basketball schools: Kentucky and Louisville.
The five-star class of 2024 small forward got his grassroots season off to a stirring start on Friday evening with a 20-point, five-rebound outing for his Florida Rebels team in a big win over Team United.
UK associate coach Orlando Antigua was in the gym to watch Knox play.
Antigua was also keeping tabs on five-star combo guard Boogie Fland, a New York-native who was also playing in Atlanta during the same game window.
Fland’s PSA Cardinals team pulled out a seven-point win, with Fland contributing six points and four assists in the win.
Kentucky coaches making stops at both Nike EYBL, adidas 3SSB circuits
The Nike EYBL event in Atlanta isn’t the only big-time grassroots basketball event occurring this weekend: The Adidas 3SSB circuit is also in action in Council Bluffs, Iowa, this weekend, and the Wildcats’ have presence at both events.
On Friday, Kentucky was in for a Nike EYBL matchup between the Georgia Stars and The Skill Factory, with the headline players being class of 2025 power forward Caleb Wilson (Georgia Stars) and class of 2024 small forward Isaiah Evans (The Skill Factory).
Kentucky was one of a plethora of a big-name schools to watch the game:
Wilson led his team with 22 points, while Evans struggled offensively, scoring just 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting.
Meanwhile in Iowa, John Calipari was again in the gym to watch five-star class of 2024 point guard Zoom Diallo.
None of Diallo, Evans or Wilson holds a UK scholarship offer yet.
A player who does hold a Kentucky scholarship offer, though, is class of 2025 shooting guard Darryn Peterson, who also plays on the adidas circuit.
Calipari was joined by another member of the UK coaching staff to watch Peterson play on Friday night in Iowa.
Indiana and Louisville were also among the schools in the gym to watch Peterson.
How to watch Nike EYBL games
The Nike EYBL website does a pretty good job of keeping you connected to the action, however far away from Atlanta you may be.
The schedule page provides a complete list of games, and the livestream section provides real-time footage of the courts in use.
The first games set to feature Kentucky recruits will begin at 5:30 p.m. with Karter Knox (Florida Rebels) in action.
Calipari, other UK coaches can attend
This weekend’s Nike EYBL stop in Atlanta comes during a live evaluation period for college coaches, which means Calipari and other members of the Kentucky coaching staff can sit courtside to watch games.
Of course, Kentucky is also set to begin hosting a recruiting visit Sunday for former Michigan men’s basketball star Hunter Dickinson.
Kentucky still doesn’t have a commitment from any class of 2024 or class of 2025 players.
Top Kentucky basketball targets to play in Atlanta
Among the players with UK connections set to take part in this weekend’s Atlanta session are Amier Ali (Houston Hoops), Isaiah Elohim (Team WhyNot), Boogie Fland (PSA Cardinals), Tre Johnson (Houston Hoops), Karter Knox (Florida Rebels) and Billy Richmond (NJ Scholars), all of whom are class of 2024 players with a Kentucky scholarship offer.
Also set to participate is Naasir Cunningham (New York Renaissance), who holds a Kentucky offer but didn’t include UK in his top-five list of schools. Tahaad Pettiford (New Heights Lightning) was a former UK recruit who committed to Auburn in February.
In-state Kentucky high school star Jasper Johnson (Team Thad) is also in Atlanta this weekend.
The top two players in the class of 2025: Cameron Boozer (Nightrydas Elite) and Cooper Flagg (Maine United) will also both be in action.
