It’s no secret the Kentucky Wildcats have plenty of holes to fill on the roster, but thus far, Zoom Diallo is the only transfer commitment they’ve landed in the first 10 days of the portal opening.
When Saint Mary’s forward Paulius Murauskas entered the portal, Kentucky was one of the early contenders to emerge in his recruitment, and he’s currently On3’s eighth-ranked player in the portal.
For whatever reason, Murauskas no longer appears to be an option for the Wildcats.
According to On3’s Joe Tipton,
Kentucky has seemingly moved on from Murauskas.
“Kentucky was another school to watch, but it sounds like the Wildcats have also moved on,” Tipton wrote.
There was actually a time when Louisville looked like the favorite, but like many teams who was involved in this recruitment, also opted to move on.
The biggest thing pushing teams away is that Randy Bennett, Murauskas’ coach with the Gaels, took the job at Arizona State this offseason, so the Sun Devils look like the team to beat.
Another thing turning teams off is that Murauskas is testing the NBA Draft waters and doesn’t plan to make a decision soon, and Arizona State appears to be the only school willing to wait for the time being.
Could Kentucky eventually circle back if other options fall through? Possibly, but for now, it appears Murauskas is off the board for Mark Pope and his staff.
