Kentucky basketball adds seventh freshman in three-star shooting guard Joey Hart
Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts to a call during the No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 1 North Carolina mens basketball game in the NCAA Tournament Elite 8 on Sunday, March 26, 2017, at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. North Carolina won 75-73. Photo by Addison Coffey | Kentucky Kernel
June 17, 2023
Kentucky men’s basketball and head coach John Calipari added another freshman to the upcoming roster in the form of three-star shooting guard Joey Hart.
While not the veteran transfer presence Kentucky fans were looking for, Hart will join a roster of star-studded freshmen including five-star athletes like Aaron Bradshaw, DJ Wagner, Robert Dillingham and Justin Edwards, as well as four-star homegrown talent Reed Sheppard.
Hart will join the Wildcats out of Linton-Stockton High School in Linton, Indiana. He is the No. 268 overall recruit in his class, No. 61 shooting guard and No. 9 overall player out of Indiana.
Standing at 6-foot-5-inches and weighing in at 185 pounds, Hart joined Kentucky after initially committing to Central Florida (UCF) back in August.
After being freed from his letter of intent, Hart visited Lexington and seemingly liked what he saw, joining the young Wildcats roster just a week later.
“I’m excited to get started at Kentucky,” Hart said in a news release from UK. “I chose UK because of Coach Calipari, the supportive fan base and Kentucky’s ability to develop players. I’m looking forward to having the opportunity to compete and play in the NCAA Tournament.”
Kentucky head coach John Calipari also had good things to say about Hart.
“Joey can really shoot the basketball but also brings a tremendous all-around game to this class,” Calipari said. “His best days of basketball are ahead of him and I look forward to watching him develop alongside the rest of the class. I’m excited to get Joey on campus so he can continue to improve at this next level.”
While an exciting time for Hart himself, many Kentucky fans are still left unsatisfied with Calipari’s struggles in the transfer portal and remaining uncertainty surrounding shooting guard Antonio Reeves.
With stars such as Oscar Tshiebwe, Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston all departing for the NBA and other names like CJ Fredrick, Lance Ware, Daimion Collins and Sahvir Wheeler all entering the transfer portal, Kentucky is far from out of the woods yet.
