Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope had his first players chosen in an NBA draft when Koby Brea, 41st to the Suns (via a trade with the Warriors), and Amari Williams, 46th to the Celtics (via a trade with the Magic), were selected Thursday night in New York.
The Wildcats’ four other draft-eligible players from a squad that made it to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 now await their next steps with Jaxson Robinson, Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr and Ansley Almonor looking to sign an undrafted free agent deal or get an opportunity/audition in the NBA summer leagues. Playing overseas could be an option for the ex-Cats, too.
Robinson, a 6-foot-6 guard from Ada, Oklahoma, missed UK’s final eight games — and 12 of the final 13 — with a wrist injury. He averaged 13.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists while shooting 43.2% from the field and 37.6% from 3-point range in 24 games played.
Kentucky was his fourth collegiate stop. He previously played two seasons for UK coach Mark Pope at BYU, including in 2023-24 when he was named the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year after averaging 14.2 points while shooting 42.6% from the field, 35.4% from 3-point range and 90.8% from the free-throw line.
Robinson averaged 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists for BYU in 2022-23. He was with Arkansas in 2021-22 and Texas A&M in 2020-21.
Butler is a 6-foot-2 guard from Moreno Valley, California, who played four seasons at San Diego State before joining the Wildcats ahead of this past season.
He averaged 11.4 points, 4.3 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals in his lone season at Kentucky. That included career-best marks from the field (49.8%) and 3-point range (39.1%). He was chosen as the most valuable player of the Kentucky-Louisville game after scoring a career-high 33 points in the Wildcats’ win against the Cardinals.
Butler was the 38th player in San Diego State program history to score 1,000 career points. He completed his Aztecs career ranking No. 5 all-time in steals (183), No. 6 in conference victories (52), No. 9 in total victories (100) and No. 10 in assists (338). He was the Mountain West’s defensive player of the year for 2023-24 when he averaged 9.3 points and 2.6 rebounds in 27.5 minutes per contest. In 2022-23, he made the NCAA All-Tournament Team after hitting a game-winning basket at the buzzer against Florida Atlantic at the Final Four.
Carr, a 6-foot-11 forward from West Chester, Pennsylvania, previously played for Wake Forest and Delaware. He averaged 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists for the Wildcats last season. In 2023-24 at Wake Forest, he was fourth on the team in scoring (13.5), second in rebounding (6.8) and third in minutes (32.5).
Almonor is a 6-foot-7 forward from Spring Valley, New York. Ahead of the draft, he committed to play for La Familia, the group of primarily former Wildcats who will be competing in The Basketball Tournament this summer.
Almonor was the first Kentucky men’s basketball player to shoot at least 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 90% at the free-throw line in a single season. He averaged 5.3 points and 1.6 rebounds for UK. Before Kentucky, he played three seasons at Fairleigh Dickinson.