LEXINGTON โ After seeing limited playing time in the 2023-24 season for Kentucky basketball, Jordan Burks will look for a bigger role elsewhere in his second collegiate campaign.
Burks, a 6-foot-8 freshman guard from Decatur, Alabama, reportedly entered the transfer portal on Friday. multiple report. He will leave the Wildcats after one season. He becomes the sixth British player to enter the transfer portal since the end of the team's 2023-24 season, joining Aaron Bradshaw, Joey Hart, Zvonimir Ivicic, Adu Tiello and DJ Wagner.
Burks was a late addition to Kentucky and former coach John Calipari's top-ranked 2023 recruiting class, joining in June. He previously signed with Ole Miss, but was released from his letter of intent after the Rebels hired Chris Beard as their new coach. Four major recruiting services had different opinions on Burks as a promising player. ESPN and On3 named him a four-star recruit, while Rivals and 247Sports gave him three stars.
Burks was a three-star recruit according to the 247Sports Composite ratings. He is the fourth UK player to sign with the program and earn a three-star overall rating during Calipari's tenure, which began in the 2009-10 season (Dominic Hawkins, Tierro and Derek Willis were the others). It became. (Kentucky has since added a second three-star composite player to the 2023 class in Hart.) Burks didn't boast as many stars as the Wildcats' other freshmen, but he brings a lot of potential. Ta.
Prior to arriving in Lexington, Burks played in Overtime Elite, an Atlanta-based professional league for players between the ages of 16 and 20, during the 2022-23 season. He was the leading scorer in both the regular season and playoffs. Burks averaged 27.1 points per game during the regular season, nearly seven points per game more than the next closest player. Burks then averaged 23 points in the OTE playoffs.
This play carried over to Kentucky's preseason pro day event at Rupp Arena on October 11, where Burks was one of the most impressive performers at the event.
However, towards the end of the season, Burks appeared only as a reserve. Burks was the Wildcats' first pitcher as UK waited for the trio of 7-footers Bradshaw, Ibisic and Ugona Onyenso to either return from injury (Bradshaw and Onyenso) or receive NCAA clearance (Ibicic). He played at least 10 minutes in each of the four games. . But as the big men started returning, Burks' minutes began to decline. In his final 16 appearances, he only reached double digits two more times. Burks also struggled with various injuries throughout the season, suffering a hand injury in December.
Burks finished the season appearing in 20 games, all off the bench. He averaged 1.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per game.
His best performance came on Feb. 6, when he scored a career-high 13 points in a blowout win over Vanderbilt on the road. Burks made 6-of-6 from the field (which was his only 3-pointer) and tied a career-best with five rebounds in a 109-77 victory.
This story will be updated.
Contact Kentucky men's basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow @RyanABlack on X.