Kentucky target Donnie Freeman has committed elsewhere

After an eventful weekend regarding Kentucky and Donnie Freeman, the forward has officially chose to go play for Rick Pitino and St. John's. Someone Mak Pope and the Widcats prioritized hard, Freeman is now heading elsewhere. On Monday, Freeman announced he would be transferring to St. John's.

Kentucky was involved in a game of chicken with Syracuse Forward Donnie Freeman. After expecting to seal the deal with a commitment over the weekend, things quickly took a turn, and now, that has bit Kentucky. Everything looked amazing with Kentucky and their chances to land the 6-9 forward, but thanks to the leverage game being played, Freeman ultimately chose Pitino and the Johnnies. It was in Kentucky's hands, but quick and late developments hurt their momentum fast. Schools like UConn and Alabama exited the race, opening the door for Kentucky to take the lead over the weekend. But, as time went on Sunday, St. John's slowly started to gain the lead after offering the highest NIL package to Freeman.

Missing on Freeman, a top 15 player in the portal hurts, but it really stings for Kentucky given the fact that their other top option at the forward spot, Sebastian Rancik, was not going to wait around. Kentucky could have locked up Rancik, but they chose to wait on Freeman, which led the Colorado transfer to Florida State, which is when leverage really came into play between the Wildcats and Freeman. Now, Kentucky turns their attention to other options and to be honest, things are looking bleak right now. As for other options, their only top priority right now at the four spot is JMU transfer Justin McBride, who is ranked 200th in the portal and looked like a quality backup option. Now, Kentucky needs to push hard for him to come in as the starter, or look elsewhere, although those options are looking bleak.

It's hard to see Kentucky officially missing on Freeman, but that's where things trended all day Monday. Now, Pope has to re-evaluate all of his options at the power forward spot. Who else could come into play? These next few days will be interesting.