WELCOME KJ!!!!

[GonzoCat90]

I love his game. He's ranked too low.

He's also a maniacal worker. In the last two years he's really taken his game seriously and approached it with a professional mindset.

The work that kid put in at Huntington was crazy. They put him through the same regimen that Bridges and Wiggins used. 5am workouts.

The improvement in his body, his shot, and his game is remarkable and he's still getting better.


But more than anything, he's a dog. If we put Zion next to him, that's the best combination of talented and nasty in the nation.

I'm telling you guys, I watch a ton of high school hoops and I've been excited about this one for a while.

He isn't Barrett, so this isn't one of those "I'd rather have him anyway!" posts, but I wanted Keldon Johnson regardless of where we stood with anyone else and I'm pumped he's a Cat.

 

[Cawood86_rivals]

Doesn't Zion wear #12? Don't know about the #0 though

 

[Jazzycat]

Happy he chose the Cats! Welcome to the Wildcat family, KJ!!!

 

[Kycatspaws]

Alright!! :clap:

 

[UKfan2151]

Awesome! We are still quite on track to bring in another terrific class, perhaps the #1 class in the nation yet again.

 

[DerekMcPwn]

HUGE commit! Probable starting 1-3 next year: Green, Quickley, Johnson. Whatever/whoever else happens, our offensive will be smooth and effective.

 

[Cat Ballou]

This has been a damned good day if you are a UK fan. Love this kid.

 

[TrustinCal]

Nice!

 

[CarolinaCatsFan]

Doesn't Zion wear #12? Don't know about the #0 though

Yes you’re right. Can’t figure out who would be #0.. looked at Herro, Brown and Wiseman and they’ve all worn different numbers..

 

[UK_fan_41102]

 

[Newcattitudes]

I love his game. He's ranked too low.

He's also a maniacal worker. In the last two years he's really taken his game seriously and approached it with a professional mindset.

The work that kid put in at Huntington was crazy. They put him through the same regimen that Bridges and Wiggins used. 5am workouts.

The improvement in his body, his shot, and his game is remarkable and he's still getting better.


But more than anything, he's a dog. If we put Zion next to him, that's the best combination of talented and nasty in the nation.

I'm telling you guys, I watch a ton of high school hoops and I've been excited about this one for a while.

He isn't Barrett, so this isn't one of those "I'd rather have him anyway!" posts, but I wanted Keldon Johnson regardless of where we stood with anyone else and I'm pumped he's a Cat.

Good report. I'm excited to have him. I like the "he's a dog" and " a maniacal worker" comments.

 

[spotter34]

I really like this kid a lot.

 

[mash_24]

Welcome to the greatest college basketball program of all time KJ!

 

[Son_Of_Saul]

Keldon Johnson is one bad-assed player.

UK is about lock up Herro as well. Brown in the Spring and Williamson (hopefully) in two to three weeks.

Bring back P.J., Shai, Quade, one of Jarred/Wenyen, and the SKJ/Wynyard/Baker trio.


Put P.J. at the 5 with Zion as his partner in committing crimes against humanity on the glass. Jarred or Keldon at the 3. Quickley/Green/Shai/Herro/Baker at the guards. Upperclassmen bigs in SKJ/Wynyard to eat the opponents young.


I like the possibilities. Could have a mindset like those early 90s Knicks squads.

 

[ZenCatFan73]

Good get!! LESSGO!!

 

[westerncat]

Great news. Welcome aboard KJ.

 

[Federal Cat]

Welcome aboard Mr. Johnson

 

[Codeblue96]

Like the timing of this commitment!

 

[CarolinaCatsFan]

Not sure what this means exactly — but I like it..



Trying to interpret what the numbers mean: he’s listed #10, #0 & #12..

IQ deleted the original tweet and changed the number to #2 instead of #0.. I saw a few pictures of Herro wearing #2 so maybe it’s him..

 

[minjo]

Excited. Welcome KJ to UK

 

[anon1773610819]

I feel better today

Even though I could care less,I'm happy that you feel better,work on that more lol.

 

[railroadkat_1]

Welcome to UK Keldon. Basketball at it's finest, love your game!

 

[Catzman]

Great pick up. Doubt he gains that many pounds, he’s fine at the weight he is as a shooting guard. How many kids ever come in and gain that many pounds anyway. Rarely if ever happens

Um, it happens all the time. Darius Miller was a 6'6 and 215 sized forward when he was recruited but was always listed around 6'7 225/230. Poythress went from 215 to 235. Wall went from 184 to 185. Goodwin from 181 to 198. Young from 200 to 215. Vanderbilt 200 to 213.

Once kids get into a college weight groom and get a tad taller, weight comes with it. Were gonna ise Johnson like Darius. Hes a 3 who can play a 2. He can play the 2 im sure with his shooting and skill, but hes a natural born 3 with his height strength and aggression. Expecting him to be around 225 is not earth shattering expectations for a 6'6/6'7 freshman forward in a college weight program.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

But some people on this board don't want 5 star recruits.

They want some shooters.

 

[Bluemoon725]

I love his game. He's ranked too low.

He's also a maniacal worker. In the last two years he's really taken his game seriously and approached it with a professional mindset.

The work that kid put in at Huntington was crazy. They put him through the same regimen that Bridges and Wiggins used. 5am workouts.

The improvement in his body, his shot, and his game is remarkable and he's still getting better.


But more than anything, he's a dog. If we put Zion next to him, that's the best combination of talented and nasty in the nation.

I'm telling you guys, I watch a ton of high school hoops and I've been excited about this one for a while.

He isn't Barrett, so this isn't one of those "I'd rather have him anyway!" posts, but I wanted Keldon Johnson regardless of where we stood with anyone else and I'm pumped he's a Cat.

Great write-up Gonzo. How would you rate him as an athlete? I’ve seen some people say he’s nothing special, and then Jerry Meyer saying he’s explosive. Wanted your take.

 

[GonzoCat90]

Great write-up Gonzo. How would you rate him as an athlete? I’ve seen some people say he’s nothing special, and then Jerry Meyer saying he’s explosive. Wanted your take.

It's relative.

He's a special athlete compared to the rest of the world. He's not Andrew Wiggins or Zion Williamson but he's comparable to a guy like Jamal Murray who I think surprised a lot of people with his leaping. Murray probably jumps better but he's also 20 pounds lighter.

KJ is so big and strongly built that he also looks "sudden" when he takes off, which may be what Meyer sees.

If it's 1-10, 1 being Wiltjer and 10 being Zion, I'd say he's a 6.5.

 

[jameslee32]

:cool2:

 

[anon_9qtxg60vqzy0y]

 

[HICATFAN]

WAHOOOOO

LINK: Keldon to Kentucky

Aloha Keldon

Welcome to the Big Blue !!! Really happy about your decision!!

AlohaCat

 

[Bluegrassking]

They want some shooters.

What they seemingly want is to whine, complain, wallow in negativity, feed their phony persecution complex while demanding some silly *** and half baked basketball philosophy that would chose Jeff Hornacek over Michael Jordan.

 

[Bluesnky]

It's relative.

He's a special athlete compared to the rest of the world. He's not Andrew Wiggins or Zion Williamson but he's comparable to a guy like Jamal Murray who I think surprised a lot of people with his leaping. Murray probably jumps better but he's also 20 pounds lighter.

KJ is so big and strongly built that he also looks "sudden" when he takes off, which may be what Meyer sees.

If it's 1-10, 1 being Wiltjer and 10 being Zion, I'd say he's a 6.5.

How is his shot? People keep talking about his great shooting ability but I don't see three point shooting ability in any publicly available numbers.

I watch his highlights and come away impressed with his shooting touch at midrange, so I can see how he could easily improve his shooting even if it isn't yet in any stats.

Also, I bet one reason Cal likes this kid so much is that he isn't just a guy who stands around the perimeter. He only shot about 1.5 threes per game on the Nike circuit this year. He drives the ball.

I'm not totally hung up on whether or not he can shoot threes, I just think that if we get Zion it would be pretty cool to get him in one on one situations because the other four guys on the floor can stroke it.

 

[Wall2Boogie]

We can easily compete with puke this yr when Vanderbilt is healthy as for next yr they lose everything and will have no bagley or carter. Trent will have to take a backseat. Someone give me a good comparison for kj. I saw chuck Hayes but that dude got blasted is johnson a decent shooter? Can he play sg and sf? How's his walk, and is a a good scorer? Plus next year you gotta figure we will hasve atleast 2-3 good players return, so I'm not too worried especially if we get another big and Williamson. Please save me from jumping off a cliff. TIA

 

[drbubba]

Right to the point excited to see him play for UK

He cameth!

 

[GonzoCat90]

How is his shot? People keep talking about his great shooting ability but I don't see three point shooting ability in any publicly available numbers.

I watch his highlights and come away impressed with his shooting touch at midrange, so I can see how he could easily improve his shooting even if it isn't yet in any stats.

Also, I bet one reason Cal likes this kid so much is that he isn't just a guy who stands around the perimeter. He only shot about 1.5 threes per game on the Nike circuit this year. He drives the ball.

I'm not totally hung up on whether or not he can shoot threes, I just think that if we get Zion it would be pretty cool to get him in one on one situations because the other four guys on the floor can stroke it.

He's great from midrange, and there's good arc on his shot, but in the handful of times I've seen him the three wasn't really a shot he looked for.

Everything I've read says he's made huge strides with his range and his shot in general, and when I saw him play at the Nike thing in LA back in July he did seem to shoot it well but it still wasn't a shot he hunted, but that's a one game sample.

It's encouraging that every scout says it's come a long, long way, and I've already seen the insane progress and work he put into the rear of his game, so I'm inclined to believe by this time next year he'll be a really good shooter.

Any kid who seeks out Huntington Prep and then Oak Hill because he wants to work and be pushed is going to keep improving.

But even if his shot just stays average, he'll likely be on the court with Quade, SGA, Quickley, Baker, Herro, etc, so if he can be a bigger, stronger, more talented DeAndre Liggins, we saw what Liggins did alongside Knight and Lamb and how that opened up his shot.