UK basketball’s 2024 recruiting class is nearly set. Karter Knox could be the final piece.

The 2024 recruiting class for Kentucky men’s basketball is nearly set.

There are the four signees: Guards Boogie Fland and Travis Perry, and centers Somto Cyril and Jayden Quaintance.

There’s the one commit: Wing Billy Richmond pledged to join the Wildcats in December, but must wait until at least April to sign his national letter of intent.

There’s a lone elite recruit still being pursued by head coach John Calipari’s program. And this prospect will take center stage in the UK recruiting world this weekend.

Small forward Karter Knox — a 6-foot-6, 226-pound prospect who plays in the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite program (OTE) — will be in Lexington for an official visit to Kentucky, which included taking in UK’s big Saturday night home win over Georgia from a seat right behind the Wildcats’ bench.

Knox’s recruiting background is probably second nature to Kentucky basketball fans by now.

A younger brother of Kevin Knox, who was a one-and-done star under Calipari at Kentucky during the 2017-18 season and helped the Wildcats win the 2018 SEC Tournament, Karter is ranked as the No. 12 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class by the 247Sports Composite.

A five-star recruit, Knox transferred last summer from his previous high school home of Tampa (Florida) Catholic High School to OTE, the Atlanta-based operation that has produced current UK player Rob Dillingham and the aforementioned Cyril.

In fact, Cyril and Knox are teammates this season with the RWE team in the OTE league.

Corey Frazier, the head coach of that RWE team, told the Herald-Leader in December he’s assigned the following player comps for Knox: Paul Pierce on offense and Metta Sandiford-Artest — formerly known as Ron Artest — on defense.

“He’s starting to learn the game through a different lens, which is good to see,” Frazier said of Knox. “... We’re challenging him on a lot of things.”

Knox is averaging 21.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in OTE play this season. He’s shooting 49.5% on 2-point shots and 27.6% on 3-point shots.

Karter Knox down to four options in recruitment

Knox is down to four post-OTE options in his recruitment: Kentucky, Louisville, South Florida and the NBA’s G-League Ignite program.

Knox is more than familiar with Calipari and the way things are done at Kentucky based on his brother’s experiences at UK. He’s also been to Lexington plenty of times himself, including as a visitor at the preseason Big Blue Madness event.

The Knox family holds extremely close ties with Louisville head coach Kenny Payne, who was UK’s associate head coach during Kevin Knox’s one-and-done college season. Payne also later worked with Kevin while Payne was an assistant coach with the NBA’s New York Knicks.

Knox took an official visit to Louisville in December. Prior to that visit, the Herald-Leader asked Knox if he would still consider Louisville as a college option if Payne wasn’t the head coach of the Cardinals.

Knox declined to comment.

Another Knox brother, Kobe, is a redshirt sophomore guard at South Florida under first-year head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim (a former Georgia and Texas A&M assistant coach).

South Florida is 10-5 overall this season with a 3-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference, which includes a stunning Thursday night comeback win at No. 10 Memphis.

Knox has taken a visit to the Bulls.

And then there’s the G-League Ignite, the direct-to-pro option that has snatched several would-be college stars in recent years. In ESPN’s most recent 2024 NBA mock draft, four players from the G-League Ignite are listed among the top 23 prospects.

“The G-League, that’s always a great option. Going against other pros. ...” Knox said in December.

Knox has told the Herald-Leader that one of the most important factors in his decision will be the ability to go one-and-done at the next level, putting him on course for the 2025 NBA draft.

Knox has also listed relationships with a coaching staff and a strong fan base as other factors that will inform his decision.

“It’s (my) relationship with the coaches, definitely need to have a good relationship with the coaches. You don’t want to go to a college where you don’t really know the coaches, you don’t really know the players,” Knox said. “Have a good fan base, you know, get the crowd rocking. You don’t want to play in front of no open gym, so it’s always good to have those things.”

Knox will be one of the last elite 2024 recruits to commit

Knox is one of the final holdouts when it comes to elite class of 2024 college basketball recruits who have yet to decide their post-high school plans.

Only three five-star recruits (per the 247Sports Composite) are yet to commit to or sign with a school. Knox is the highest-ranked of those players, and is also the last class of 2024 player with a UK scholarship offer yet to make a decision.

Knox also represents the final chance for Kentucky to pass Duke for the top spot in the 2024 team recruiting rankings.

Both the Blue Devils and Wildcats project to have five freshmen newcomers for the 2024-25 season.

Saturday

Georgia at No. 8 Kentucky

When: 6 p.m.

TV: SEC Network

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Records: Georgia 13-4 (3-1 SEC), Kentucky 13-3 (3-1)

Series: Kentucky leads 131-28

Last meeting: Georgia won 75-68 on Feb. 11, 2023, at Athens, Ga.