UK basketball recruiting: Where the Wildcats stand with Isaiah Elohim, other underclassmen

With Kentucky men’s basketball’s 2023 recruiting class now settled and signed, it’s time to start looking toward the future.

John Calipari and the Wildcats don’t have any commitments yet beyond the 2023 class, but efforts have long been underway toward landing class of 2024 and class of 2025 players.

Several of these pursuits will take center stage this weekend.

With Kentucky in New York City for Saturday’s game against UCLA at Madison Square Garden in the CBS Sports Classic, the Cats will use the trip to the Big Apple to check in on Ian Jackson, a star class of 2024 guard that UK has prioritized.

Kentucky’s coaches will reportedly take in one of Jackson’s games on Sunday evening.

But beyond Jackson, there are other players in future recruiting classes that UK is keeping close tabs on.

Isaiah Elohim update

Class of 2024 shooting guard Isaiah Elohim is a top-15 player in his year according to the 247Sports Composite, and picked up a Kentucky scholarship offer over the summer.

This month, On3’s Joe Tipton reported that while Kentucky is not one of the schools that Elohim said is reaching out to him the most, Elohim still said he wants to visit the Wildcats.

That prospect seems to be growing more unlikely, though.

Brian Reichert, who covers prep basketball in the New York City area for Rivals, recently spoke with Elohim (a New York native) and Elohim said that the five programs currently recruiting him the hardest were Arkansas, Baylor, Gonzaga, Michigan and UCLA, in no particular order.

Kentucky’s pursuit of Jackson at the same position could explain while the Wildcats haven’t made a strong recruiting effort toward Elohim.

But should things not work out with Jackson — who is taking an official visit early next month to North Carolina — the Wildcats could do much worse than reigniting their pursuit of Elohim, a physical 6-foot-4 prospect.

“Elohim does most of his damage as a secondary creator and polished scorer,” Pro Insight Basketball senior analyst Tyler Glazier told the Herald-Leader this week. “While not the most explosive athlete, he does a good job leveraging his strength and crafty approach to get to his spots on the floor.”

Boogie Fland update

The potential exists for Kentucky to bring in multiple players from New York City in the class of 2024.

In addition to Jackson, the Cats are also heavily recruiting Boogie Fland, a combo guard from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, a northern suburb of New York City.

Fland is ranked as the No. 11 player in the class of 2024 according to the 247Sports Composite, and is set to have a high-profile weekend ahead of him at the City of the Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Florida, where the potential exists for Stepinac to play UK signee Justin Edwards’ Imhotep Institute team.

“Boogie is a terrific guard. His leadership, ability to create and competitiveness will translate immediately at the next level,” Reichert told the Herald-Leader. “(He is) a three-level scorer with major IQ, plus he is fearless on the court.”

UK was in to see Fland in September.

Thus far Fland has only taken one official visit: to North Carolina in late October.

Other underclassmen UK is tracking

Only one player in the class of 2025 has a publicly reported Kentucky scholarship offer: Ohio shooting guard Darryn Peterson (who recently scored 40 points in a high school game).

Peterson will have the spotlight on him this weekend when his Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy team will play in Ohio’s edition of the Scholastic Play by Play Classic.

The Kentucky version of the event occurred at Freedom Hall in Louisville last Sunday and featured a marquee showdown between class of 2023 UK signees Justin Edwards and Reed Sheppard.

Kentucky got a firsthand look at two more in-state underclassmen during last weekend’s event as well.

Both Jasper Johnson (class of 2025 combo guard from Woodford County) and Jayden Johnson (class of 2026 shooting guard from Trinity in Louisville) played during the event.

Jasper Johnson is the son of Dennis Johnson, the former star UK football player who is the head football coach and athletics director at Woodford County.

Jayden Johnson previously attended Male High School in Louisville and played meaningful minutes for the varsity squad as an eighth-grader last season. That Male squad reached the Sweet 16.

UK associate coach Orlando Antigua took in each of their games last Sunday.

Going back to New York City, UK has already spent time watching point guard Danny Carbuccia, who is a high school teammate of Fland at Archbishop Stepinac.

Carbuccia’s scholarship offer list remains relatively regional, with a bevy of smaller programs in the northeast along with Providence, Saint Louis and West Virginia.

Kentucky watched Carbuccia in September.

Another NYC-based point guard to note for the future is Tai Turnage out of St. Raymond’s in The Bronx.

According to Reichert, Turnage is a potential five-star recruit down the road.

Currently ranked as the No. 40 overall player in the class of 2025 by Rivals, Turnage recently picked up an offer from Mississippi State.

“Turnage could have the best basketball IQ in 2025. He can score from all three levels, loves to create and lives at the line,” Reichert, who covers prep basketball in the New York City area for Rivals, told the Herald-Leader.

“Kentucky might love him out of all the point guards because he lifts up others and makes winning plays.”

Creighton is also among the list of scholarship offers for Turnage.

Something important to remember is that these talented sophomores are still months away from being able to fully engage in recruiting messages with college coaches.