Karter Knox, a Kentucky legacy recruit, commits to Arkansas after UK’s coaching change
Karter Knox was set to become a Kentucky basketball legacy recruit, following in the footsteps of his older brother, Kevin, who was a one-and-done star for the Wildcats during the 2017-18 season under head coach John Calipari.
Knox was set to be the final addition to Calipari’s six-player 2024 recruiting class at Kentucky, and helped solidify that group as the second-best in the nation, behind only Duke’s.
Of course, things didn’t play out that way.
Knox committed to Kentucky on March 9, just hours after the Wildcats won at Tennessee to close the regular season. It would prove to be Calipari’s last win as UK’s coach. He officially left the UK program April 9 and became the head coach at Arkansas one day later.
And on Monday night, Knox announced the next step in his basketball journey. Previously a verbal commit to Kentucky, Knox will instead follow Calipari to Arkansas as a class of 2024 commit for the Razorbacks.
Former Kentucky basketball center Zvonimir Ivisic has also announced that he would also be transferring from UK to Arkansas.
A 6-foot-6 small forward, Knox committed to Kentucky from a final list of schools and basketball pathways that also included Louisville, South Florida and the Overtime Elite (OTE) program, where Knox played his final prep school season. Another Knox brother, Kobe, plays at South Florida.
The Knox family holds close ties with Calipari from Kevin Knox’s one-and-done Kentucky season, which included being named the 2018 SEC Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-SEC selection. Kevin Knox was selected with the ninth overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft.
The younger Knox was teammates at OTE last season with Somto Cyril, another class of 2024 Kentucky recruit who decommitted after Calipari departed the UK program.
The Knox family is also close with Kenny Payne, who was UK’s associate head coach under Calipari when Kevin Knox was in school. When Payne was Louisville’s head coach for the last two seasons, he spearheaded the recruitment of Knox. This family connection was the reason why the Cardinals were a finalist for Knox.
Payne is now an associate head coach again under Calipari at Arkansas. By choosing the Razorbacks, Knox will, obviously, play for both coaches.
Knox is ranked as a five-star recruit and the No. 19 overall prospect in the 2024 class, per the 247Sports Composite. Knox was one of three players originally committed to Kentucky in the 2024 recruiting class — along with guard Boogie Fland and center Jayden Quaintance — to be named a 2024 McDonald’s All-American.
That distinction came with some history attached. Kevin Knox was also a McDonald’s All-American in 2017, prior to his lone season at UK. So when Karter Knox was named a Burger Boy this year, the two Knox brothers became the 26th pair of siblings to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game.
“It’s crazy, as a little kid I was watching the game, just seeing (Kevin) in the McDonald’s game,” Knox said at McDonald’s All-American Game media day. “The best out of the best players in the world, and just seeing (Kevin) being selected, it really touched my heart. ... That’s what really inspired me to play basketball and just keep going and go hard, the way I do.”
Only one player who was part of the six-player UK recruiting class put together by Calipari appears to be remaining in Lexington under new Kentucky coach Mark Pope. That’s in-state guard Travis Perry, the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school boys basketball history.
On Monday night, Perry officially announced he would be remaining with the Wildcats.
The other five players from that 2024 Kentucky recruiting class have all decommitted from the Wildcats following the coaching change.
MARK POPE BUILDS HIS FIRST KENTUCKY BASKETBALL ROSTER
First-year Kentucky head coach Mark Pope will be building his first UK basketball roster from scratch.
Aaron Bradshaw (Ohio State), Joey Hart (Ball State) and Zvonimir Ivisic (Arkansas) are players from the 2023-24 Kentucky squad that will transfer to new schools. Additionally, Jordan Burks, Adou Thiero and D.J. Wagner are still in the NCAA transfer portal.
Thiero has a return to Kentucky among his final five options. The other schools on his list are Arkansas (where he’d rejoin Calipari), Indiana, North Carolina and Pittsburgh.
Also from last season’s team, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards, Ugonna Onyenso and Reed Sheppard have declared for the 2024 NBA draft. Tre Mitchell and Antonio Reeves have exhausted their college eligibility.
Collin Chandler, a combo guard and former BYU signee, announced last week that he would be following Pope to Kentucky. Chandler was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class before taking a two-year mission trip.
On Sunday afternoon, Pope made his first transfer portal addition of the offseason: Former Drexel big man Amari Williams committed to UK.
On Monday night, Perry confirmed he would remain committed to and signed with Kentucky.
College basketball players have until May 1 to enter the transfer portal. The early-entry deadline for the 2024 NBA draft is April 27, and players who enter the draft with remaining NCAA eligibility will have until May 29 to remove their names from consideration and return to school.
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