Since Pope and assistant coaches Alvin Brooks III, Cody Fueger, and Jason Hart arrived in Lexington, fresh talents have appeared on UK’s recruiting radar, ranging from five-star guard Trey McKenney of the class of 2025 to four-star small forward Shelton Henderson. (The three UK assistants who are authorized to conduct recruitment are Brooks, Fueger, and Hart.)

Although Pope’s method of evaluating talent and recruiting strategy are very different from Calipari’s, numerous former UK recruits are still on the coaching staff of the UK.

Class of 2025 talents like top-ranked player AJ Dybantsa (who has been extended an offer to play) are included in this group. scholarship by Pope), twin brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer (sons of former Duke and NBA star Carlos Boozer) and Jasper Johnson, a former Woodford County standout from within the state.

During Pope’s first recruiting cycle as Kentucky’s coach, it will be interesting to see if power forward Josh Wilson, a strong prospect in the class of 2025, joins the group of players that Pope is recruiting to Kentucky after Calipari first expressed interest in the UK.

Last June, Wilson—a 6-foot-9, 205-pound power forward who is currently listed by the 247Sports Composite as the fourth best player in the 2025 class—was first offered a scholarship to study in the United Kingdom. In October, he attended Calipari’s last Big Blue Madness, a significant recruiting event.

But since then, other schools have established themselves as the leaders in Wilson’s recruitment, including a pair of other SEC powers.

During last weekend’s Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) session just outside Indianapolis, Wilson said Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Georgia Tech and Tennessee are the schools currently recruiting him the hardest.

Should Pope want to, he has every chance to put Kentucky back in the thick of this recruiting race.

That EYBL session near Indianapolis occurred during the first live recruiting period of the spring, when coaches and recruiters are allowed to watch prospects in action. Kentucky had a front-row seat to Wilson’s games with Nightrydas Elite, a star-studded EYBL team that also features the aforementioned Boozer twins.

Wilson began this Nike EYBL season playing for the Georgia Stars program, before joining Nightrydas Elite.

“I like unselfishness, and I also like winning,” Wilson said about why he changed EYBL programs. “I knew that playing with a team like Nightrydas I would get coached, which is something I really want to do because next year I know it’s college basketball. No one’s going to be patient. You go into college basketball with them knowing, or wanting, you to know everything.

“If I want to be looked at and perceived as a freshman who can play, I want to get that knowledge now.”

Wilson put on a show for Pope and company in Indiana: He scored 13 or more points in three of his four games played, including a 13-point, nine-rebound effort that also came with two assists and a steal in a Sunday morning blowout win over All Ohio Red.

“My mom always tells me, ‘The way you do one thing is the way you do everything,’” Wilson said. “I compete on the court just like I compete everywhere else in life.”

“My catch-and-shoot game has gotten way better,” Wilson added about his on-court growth. “And really just playing off the catch. I really wanted to work on that, and I feel like it’s getting better the more and more I’m able to do it, and really defense.”

There’s interest from Wilson in being recruited, again, by Kentucky, even if he hasn’t heard yet from Pope.

“I think this is their first time getting eyes on me. I really haven’t heard from them at all,” Wilson said of the new UK staff. “… Good program, definitely high-caliber. I still like it.”

Despite the seismic coaching changes for Kentucky this offseason, Wilson said he has watched film of Pope’s BYU teams and already has an understanding for how the new UK coach likes to run things.

“I would like to hear from them,” Wilson said about potential recruiting interest from Kentucky. “It’s an SEC school, it’s a very good conference. I feel like it’s somewhere I could play. They have games close to home, so I really like it.”

Caleb Wilson talks recruiting interest from Auburn, Tennessee

Whether or not Kentucky is able to regain its previous standing in Wilson’s recruitment, there’s a good chance Wildcats fans will notice his on-court presence in a few years’ time.

Wilson gave a lengthy interview to media regarding the relationships he has built during his recruitment process with Auburn and Tennessee, two other SEC schools.

Wilson stated, “Auburn has a really good Georgia pipeline.” “I hold them in high regard. The fact that they will soon be a Nike school is something I like. I think I’ll learn there since Coach Bruce Pearl is a good coach who coaches with energy.

Wilson specifically mentioned head coach Rick Barnes and assistant coach Gregg Polinsky of the Volunteers while discussing Tennessee.

Wilson described the two boys as “really cool guys, I talk to them almost every day.” “.. Simply excellent coaches. They play great defense, which is something I’m really starting to do, and they have good offense.

Along with Georgia Tech’s Damon Stoudamire, Barnes is one of the two college coaches with whom Wilson now has the closest relationship.

Wilson also mentioned Arkansas as one of the colleges most actively involved in his recruiting, a program that currently has Calipari and numerous former Kentucky assistant coaches on staff.

Wilson is still taking his time with recruitment, despite all the hype of relationship and recruitment leaders these days.

He stated that after last weekend’s live period, he intends to assess new universities that might be interested in recruiting him. He presently has no visits scheduled.

Wilson will not attending the fourth and final Nike EYBL regular-season session this weekend. Wilson named three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic as his favorite player to watch. Rather, he is taking part in the training camp for the USA Basketball Under-18 national team in Colorado. At that training camp, twenty-eight players are vying for a position on the 12-person squad that will participate in the FIBA Under-18 Men’s AmeriCup in June, which is being hosted in Argentina.

Wilson will have time to thoroughly evaluate his recruitment environment after that event. By then, we ought to have a clearer idea of how big of a role Kentucky will play.