Freshman Jordan Burks of Kentucky speaks with the media on Friday, February 9, 2024, before of the Wildcats’ Saturday game at Rupp Arena against the Gonzaga Bulldogs. In just 15 minutes, Burks scored 13 points as the Wildcats defeated Vanderbilt 109-77 on Tuesday. penned by John Clay of UK Athletics
Jordan Burks of Kentucky is going to use the college basketball transfer website. After a year with the programme, the 6-foot-8 forward from Decatur, Alabama, will be leaving Lexington. He is the last player from John Calipari’s final season with the Wildcats to announce the next phase in his basketball career. Burks played in 20 of Kentucky’s 33 games as a freshman last season, averaging 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.1 minutes. He started the season as UK’s backup post player with Aaron Bradshaw and Zvonimir Ivisic, both of whom are 7-footers.and Ugonna Onyenso, who began on the bench. Burks’ playing time decreased after those three players made their season debuts in December and January, respectively, with Bradshaw and Onyenso and Ivisic.
Burks played no more than seven minutes in any game after conference play started, with the exception of his 13 points in 15 minutes against Vanderbilt on February 6 – UK won that one 109-77 on a night when the entire squad joined in on the fun. On February 24, during Kentucky’s 117-95 victory over Alabama at Rupp Arena, Burks played his final three minutes on the court without scoring a point. He did not participate in either of UK’s two postseason games, which were losses to Oakland in the NCAA Tournament and Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament.
After 15 seasons at UK, Calipari moved to take a position as head coach at Arkansas. Mark Pope, a former BYU coach, took over as head coach at Arkansas, and he will have to work through a significant roster overhaul in order to be ready for the 2024–25 season.
As a high school recruit, Burks had committed to Ole Miss, but he later changed his mind after Chris Beard was hired to take over the Rebels’ programme after Kermit Davis was fired after the 2022–2023 season. Burks was ranked No. 178 overall in the 247Sports composite rankings from the previous year, and he was ranked No. 38 as a small forward in the 2023 class by 247Sports. Burks did not have a national ranking from that recruiting service.
Burks’ choice follows the announcement on Thursday by national freshman of the year Reed Sheppard that he will forgo his remaining three years of collegiate eligibility and join the NBA draft, where he is expected to be a lottery pick. These were the final two scholarship players from the 2023–24 team who had not yet disclosed their basketball futures to the public.
Justin Edwards and Rob Dillingham have already submitted draft declarations. Onyenso, who is expected to be selected in the second round, is also a draft participant and has no intention of attending college. The transfer destinations for Bradshaw (Ohio State) and Ivisic (following Calipari to Arkansas) for the upcoming season have already been revealed. Joey Hart, a reserve player in his rookie year, would play for Ball State the following year. Adou Thiero and D.J. Wagner have also accessed the transfer portal, but they haven’t decided what to do next yet.
Thiero’s last five alternatives include going back to Kentucky. The other colleges on his list are Indiana, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, and Arkansas, where he would re-join Calipari.
