Acaden Lewis has decided to play basketball for Kentucky.

“BOOM!” did someone say?

Right now, 4-star point guard Acaden Lewis committed to the Kentucky Wildcats, which means Mark Pope and his team did.

In a ceremony on Saturday that was shown live on On3, Lewis made the news.

Kentucky got Lewis, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound guard from Washington, D.C., over Duke and UConn. He joined 5-star combo guard Jasper Johnson in making the backcourt even stronger. People thought Kentucky was the clear favourite going into the game, so it wasn’t a surprise that Lewis picked them over the other two schools.

When Lewis played at the NBPA Top 100 camp over the summer, many schools started to notice him and start to try to recruit him. A few times, 247 Sports placed Lewis from No. 78 to No. 34 overall. Top schools were able to easily get a good look at Lewis because he scored 15.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.6 assists for Team Durant in the Nike EYBL.

247 Sports says Lewis is the No. 5 point guard in the Class of 2025 and the 32nd best player in the country right now. Lewis has ranked the following other hiring databases:

One3: The No. 8 point guard and the No. 55 total player

ESPN: The 28th best player overall and the 7th best point guard overall

No. 20 player in the country and No. 7 point guard in the country are rivals.

Report from scouting

It’s a good fit for Lewis to play with Johnson because he’s great at both making plays and scoring. Additionally, Lewis has a strong handle that helps him get through tight defences and set up plays well, which makes him an important part of any offence.

Players on defence have to be careful around Lewis because he can shoot very well, especially from mid-range and beyond the hoop. As a slasher, he has no trouble getting to the basket and finishes with confidence and skill.

Because he stays in front of his man, moves quickly from side to side, and has great awareness, Lewis is a great defensive player. Reading passing lanes and challenging drives well are easy for him to do because of his quick reactions.

Plain and simple, Lewis fits Mark Pope’s offence perfectly. That’s why the new UK coach has put so much emphasis on him since the summer.

This is the only player in Kentucky’s frontcourt who has committed: 4-star centre Malachi Moreno. If Kentucky wins the battle for 5-star power forward Caleb Wilson, that could easily change in the future. No one can stop Kentucky from getting better recruits under Pope.

It shows how dedicated Pope and his team are to keeping recruiting top-level players that the Wildcats already have three committed players before the season starts on Monday.

You can expect all three players to sign with the Wildcats during the early National Signing Day, which runs from November 13–20. For Pope at Kentucky, they will be the first signed class.