Kentucky Basketball gets recruiting prediction to land Nikola Kusturica

Kentucky Basketball may be on the verge of one more big-time recruiting win to cap off the 2026-27 roster.

The BBN learned recently that Kentucky was making a push for international prospect Nikola Kusturica, a 6-foot-9 wing from Serbia who is already firmly on NBA radars. While the Wildcats are in the mix, Gonzaga was thought to be the leader, as the Zags have a bigger need right now, and they’ve been on him for longer.

Advertisement

Well, there may have been a shift in this recruitment, as 247 Sports’ Travis Branham just logged a prediction for Kentucky to land Kusturica with a confidence level of 7. This would be a massive late addition for Mark Pope and Co. that would keep his recent hot streak going after the offseason got off to a rough start.

Back in the 2025 FIBA U16 EuroBasket Tournament, Kusturica averaged 20 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 49.5% from the field and 30.8% on 3-pointers across 25.6 minutes per game. He was named MVP of the tournament and is now being projected as a lottery pick in the 2028 NBA Draft.

NBA Draft Room currently has Kusturica projected to go No. 2 overall in the 2028 draft. That tells you just how highly thought of he is already. And because he has to play two seasons of college basketball — he just recently turned 17 — there’s a good chance he’ll become a star player for some lucky program before he leaves for the NBA.

And Kentucky may just be who he decides to play for.

Add us to your “Preferred Sources” on Google to get all the latest Kentucky Wildcats news and views! And Go CATS!!

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kentucky-basketball-gets-recruiting-prediction-030716357.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-06-17 03:07:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.