Earlier this week, Kentucky Basketball head coach Mark Pope mentioned that the guys they have right now on the roster are who they expect to go into battle with. But he also mentioned that they will be watching developing situations.
Well, one could be Kansas Jayhawks guard Melvin Council Jr., though we’re skeptical about this one.
Saturday night, Council posted on Instagram that he’s making a commitment on Sunday, seemingly from a list that includes Kentucky, Michigan, and LSU.
However, ESPN’s Jeff
Borzello says Michigan is not a suitor.
Why is Council eligible for this season? A Monroe County, New York, judge granted Council a preliminary injunction against the NCAA on Tuesday morning, according to Henry Greenstein of KUSports.com.
The ruling allows Council to become eligible for the upcoming season. Additionally, it also prevents the NCAA from retroactively penalizing him or any school that places him on its roster.
Council is the reigning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, playing and starting in 35 games for the Jayhawks last year and averaging 12.7 points per game. Council shot 39.2% from the field and 30.8% from 3-point range.
Council has played five seasons of college basketball, starting at Monroe College for two seasons and earning two NJCAA Division I All-American honors.
From there, he played for Wagner in 2023-24, leading the Seahawks to an NCAA Tournament win in the First Four. In 2024-25, Council played at St. Bonaventure, where he led the Atlantic 10 with 72 steals and scored in double figures 29 times.
Last year at Kansas, Council led the Jayhawks in assists with 177, ranking sixth in the Big 12, and his 5.1 assists per game ranked seventh in the league, as did his 2.68 assist-to-turnover ratio.
So, could Council be joining the Wildcats? Because this is coming out of nowhere, with no previous buzz that Kentucky was even a suitor, fans shouldn’t get their hopes up that Council is coming to Lexington.
And because Council plays almost exclusively at point guard, it’s hard to see him joining a team that already has Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins.
Still, we’ll keep you posted whenever an announcement comes Sunday.
