With a minimum of one scholarship spot remaining on its roster, Kentucky men’s basketball was reportedly in contact with former Miami Hurricane Divine Ugochukwu.
Ugochukwu averaged 5.3 points and 2.3 assists per night as a true freshman with the Hurricanes, which themselves had a disastrous 2024-25 campaign.
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Committing to Miami as a three-star transfer out of Sugar Land, Texas, Ugochukwu entered a bleak situation as, after two straight deep NCAA Tournament runs including the programs first ever Final Four, the wheels had fallen off the bus for Head Coach Jim Larranaga.
Following a Final Four in 2023, Miami started the 2023-24 season ranked No. 13 and got up to No. 8 before collapsing to finish 15-17 and 6-14 in the ACC.
Then, in 2024-25, Ugochukwu’s freshman season, Miami went just 7-24 and 3-17 in a down year for the ACC with the conference only having three sure-fire NCAA Tournament teams and getting a total of four.
The season was such a disaster, in fact, that Larranaga would resign in December, leaving the team in the hands of interim Bill Courtney.
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With Courtney unable to right the ship, he was let go at the end of the season in favor of Duke assistant and former Kentucky assistant Jai Lucas.
Coming into Coral Gables, Lucas has worked to build his first ever head coaching roster at just the age of 36, but Ugochukwu appears to be headed elsewhere.
Entering the portal without any true flashy box scores, Ugochukwu was still heard from a plethora of programs including Texas Tech, Baylor, Pittsburgh, Iowa, Texas, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
KSR’s Jacob Polacheck confirmed that it was Kentucky assistant Mikhail McLean that had made contact with Ugochukwu.
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As for what Kentucky may be seeking in Ugochukwu’s recruitment, look no further than Travis Perry.
Kentucky’s own Perry, from Lyon County, was intended to be a depth piece for the Wildcats last season before major injuries to Jaxson Robinson, Kerr Kriisa, Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr saw Perry — along with fellow freshmen Trent Noah and Collin Chandler — see an increased role on the team.
In spite of that, it seemed clear that Perry was not ready to have such a major impact on a team the caliber of Kentucky as a freshman as he struggled to outmuscle and produce against the best SEC conference college basketball has ever seen.
With the Wildcats adding a truckload of talent in the transfer portal and recruiting over Perry, the sophomore opted to enter the transfer portal just before it closed to seek a new home. Perry’s move was similar to that of Acaden Lewis, who decommitted from Kentucky due to a lack of space on the roster for him.
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With Perry being pursued heavily by Vanderbilt, Kentucky is seemingly looking to add some additional depth to its roster, but is seeking depth that won’t expect a prominent role.
It’s to be seen if Ugochukwu will decide to come to UK to be a bench piece, but, nonetheless, it is an interesting name to keep an eye on as the 2025-26 Wildcats take shape.
