Four Star Point Guard Acaden Lewis Commits to UK

Acaden Lewis is a “scoring machine” who plans to play for UK coach Mark Pope. (UK Athletics Photo)

ESPN college basketball analyst Fran Fraschilla called it a “great get” for Kentucky when four-star point guard Acaden Lewis verbally committed to UK and coach Mark Pope Saturday.

“Huge fan of this young man. A scoring machine. The recruiting dominoes fell just right (for Kentucky),” Fraschilla posted on social media.

The 6-2, 180-pound  Lewis had offers from Duke, Connecticut, North Carolina and over 20 other schools but instead gave Pope his first top 30 recruit who lives outside of Kentucky.

“Kentucky because I see the most opportunity to play with elite talent and learn how to control elite talent,” Lewis, ranked the No. 5 point guard in the Class of 2025 per 247Sports.com, told ZAGSBLOG about why he picked UK Saturday.

“Mark Pope and his staff made me feel like the priority and made it a point to show why I’ll be a pro with the support and guidance they supply.”

He also said he would bring a “flashy but effective” style of play to Kentucky to add to a recruiting class that already includes five-star guard Jasper Johnson and four-star big Malachi Moreno, both in-state products.

“They want me to come in and play a priority role right away,” Lewis told 247Sports. “There’s a starting spot and he wants me to take it. I want to come in and run the team. My whole career I really just figured out how to play point guard and this last year and a half I figured it out in high school.

“I needed a situation on the biggest stage where I had time to figure it out. Not everybody is going to come in and be the guy right away. It’ll be an adjustment and Coach Pope will let me go through that adjustment.”

Lewis also said during his commitment ceremony that he is continuing to try and persuade Caleb Wilson, who postponed a scheduled visit to Arkansas Friday, to join him at Kentucky. Williams has not done anything to discourage the attention from Lewis. The 6-9 Wilson is a consensus top 10 player nationally.

Wilson has taken official visits to Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Ohio State and Central Florida along with Kentucky. He indicated he still plans to visit Arkansas.