Transfer portal talk: Is anyone left for Kentucky basketball to recruit for next season?

It was another weekend of transfer portal disappointment for the Kentucky men’s basketball program and its fans.

On Saturday night, former San Diego State standout Keshad Johnson — a starter in last season’s national championship game for the Azetcs — announced he would be joining Arizona as a graduate transfer for his fifth and final college basketball season.

Johnson picked Arizona over a shortlist of schools that included Kentucky, a common theme among transfer portal players in recent months.

Head coach John Calipari and the Wildcats are still without a single addition from the NCAA transfer portal this offseason, and it’s not due to a lack of trying.

At one point or another this offseason, the likes of Chad Baker-Mazara, Matthew Cleveland, Hunter Dickinson, Jordan Dingle, Harrison Ingram, Keshad Johnson, Tyrin Lawrence, Grant Nelson, Jamarion Sharp and Tre White have been linked as potential transfer targets for Kentucky.

Obviously, none of them are Wildcats.

With this being the case, is there anybody left in the transfer portal worthy of Kentucky’s attention, or that would consider coming to Lexington for next season?

Could Grant Nelson be a potential portal option for Kentucky?

There’s been some smoke, but little fire, connecting Kentucky to a couple of the nation’s best big men.

But, it’s likely that neither of them will don the blue and white of Kentucky.

North Dakota State’s Grant Nelson (a 6-foot-11 forward who averaged 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots per game last season) took part in last week’s NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. His name is also in the NCAA transfer portal, and he’s reportedly received interest from the Wildcats.

But when speaking to the Herald-Leader last week, Nelson expressed his desire to remain in this year’s NBA Draft: He’s been so focused on that pursuit that his brother is actually the person fielding interest in Nelson from college programs.

Should Nelson choose to return to the college ranks, he will probably be linked to Kentucky, but a number of reasons exist for why the pairing likely won’t come to fruition.

Among these are the fact that Nelson’s away-from-the-basket style of play isn’t normal for big men on Calipari-coached teams, and that incoming UK freshman Aaron Bradshaw already boasts a similar skill set.

Another player who was linked to potentially being a fit at UK came from within the SEC.

Mississippi State forward Tolu Smith was reportedly weighing his own entrance into the portal, but he formally announced Sunday that he would be withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft and staying in Starkville.

It’s a significant win for second-year Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans, who led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Tournament First Four last season.

The deadline for players to enter the transfer portal has already passed, but that doesn’t mean new names can’t still pop up on Kentucky’s radar.

Once in the portal, players can take as long as they want to make their college decisions. Additionally, graduate transfers can enter the portal at any time.

Kentucky has interest in former Big Ten guard

Appropriately enough, on Monday reports surfaced that linked Kentucky to having interest in a graduate transfer out of the Big Ten.

Former Rutgers guard Cam Spencer entered the transfer portal Friday following his first and only season with the Scarlet Knights.

According to NJ Advance Media, interest in Spencer has arrived from several top programs, including UConn, Indiana, Kentucky and Texas.

Spencer, who has just one season of eligibility remaining, spent three years at Loyola-Maryland before transferring to Rutgers.

He was an important scorer for Rutgers last season and led the Scarlet Knights with 13.2 points per game on better than 44% shooting from the field.

In particular, Spencer was a valuable three-point shooting threat who made more than 43% of his shots from distance. He was also a rock-solid 89.4% free-throw shooter.

For a Kentucky team that still only has freshmen and sophomores confirmed as being on the roster for next season, Spencer would become the most experienced player on the UK team by a wide margin.

Former UK player Lance Ware picks new school

While an influx of players into the Kentucky men’s basketball program via the NCAA transfer portal has failed to materialize, there has been a steady stream of transfers out of the UK team.

The latest of these came over the weekend, when former UK big man Lance Ware committed to Villanova as his next college destination.

While Ware averaged only 2.0 points and 2.0 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game last season, he was a crucial locker-room presence and leader for the Wildcats while playing in a backup role behind Oscar Tshiebwe.

Ware was named a a co-captain for Kentucky ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

Ware’s announcement means rising junior Daimion Collins is the only outgoing Kentucky player yet to reveal his next basketball stop.

Livingston, Tshiebwe nearing decisions

Kentucky’s shortcomings in the transfer portal may be mitigated based on the stay-or-go decisions still to be made by forwards Chris Livingston and Oscar Tshiebwe.

Both players recently participated in the 2023 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, where they spoke to the Herald-Leader about their upcoming choices to either return to Kentucky for another college season, or to turn professional and remain in this summer’s NBA Draft.

The deadline for players to decide whether to remain in the draft or return to school is May 31 at 11:59 p.m.

This means that within the next two weeks, we will know whether or not Livingston and Tshiebwe will be Wildcats next season. Guard Antonio Reeves is also weighing a stay-or-go decision concerning the draft but was not invited to the combine and is widely expected to return.

Roster outlook for Kentucky next season

Here’s a breakdown of the scholarship players joining and leaving the Cats, along with the question marks that still exist for next season’s team.

Incoming players: Aaron Bradshaw (freshman center), Robert Dillingham (freshman guard), Justin Edwards (freshman small forward), Reed Sheppard (freshman guard), DJ Wagner (freshman guard).

Returning players: Brennan Canada (fifth-year guard), Ugonna Onyenso (sophomore forward), Adou Thiero (sophomore guard).

Outgoing players: Daimion Collins (forward, transfer portal), CJ Fredrick (guard, transferred to Cincinnati), Jacob Toppin (forward, NBA Draft), Cason Wallace (guard, NBA Draft), Lance Ware (forward, transferred to Villanova), Sahvir Wheeler (guard, transferred to Washington).

Yet-to-be announced: Chris Livingston (forward), Antonio Reeves (guard), Oscar Tshiebwe (forward).