With one of the best transfer guards on the roster, Kentucky appears to be a team that is heavily involved.
Is Kentucky getting closer to acquiring a starting guard for the upcoming campaign? Certainly, it appears to be.
In the last few years, Michigan has had difficulty admitting transfers because of its academic standards. Terrence Shannon Jr. and Caleb Love were the two most notable recent transfers that were turned down for admission. There is already talk of a third big name being turned down by the Michigan admissions office.
Johnell Davis, the guard for Florida Atlantic, is that. A report claims that although the staff is currently failing to locate a workaround, they are attempting.
What effect does this have on Kentucky? According to a number of sources, including one from renowned college basketball analyst Trilly Donovan, Kentucky and Arkansas will compete for Davis.
Another team that was allegedly engaged was Houston, but it doesn’t seem like it is as likely.
During FAU’s run to the Final Four two years ago, Davis made his debut with an average of 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 35.7 percent from three in the 2022–2023 campaign. But he witnessed an uptick in his averages to 15.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game during FAU’s NCAA Tournament run.
Despite having choices through the transfer portal, Davis returned this past season and had an AAC Player of the Year campaign. 2.9 assists, 6.3 rebounds, 18.2 points, and 41.4 percent three-point shooting were all averages for him.
The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 19.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game in conference play alone.
From 23.1 percent on 0.3 makes per game as a freshman to 41.4 percent on 1.7 made threes per game, his three-point percentage increase was noteworthy.
After head coach Dusty May left for Michigan, Davis accessed the transfer portal, but few schools attempted to get involved because he was always associated with Michigan.
It will be intriguing to watch who prevails if there is a rematch between Kentucky and John Calipari. There has been significant discussion lately regarding Jerry Jones, an Arkansas booster, and his willingness to do whatever it takes to prevent players from attending Kentucky. Here, we’ll find out if that’s the case.
Following the departure of the entire 2023–24 roster to either the NBA or the portal, Kentucky is currently undergoing a complete roster rebuild. But the Wildcats just pulled off a huge transfer victory over the weekend when they acquired big man Amari Williams.
If Davis is the next player to carry on the Kentucky heritage, Mark Pope could undoubtedly start his offseason in a very big way.
