Obinna Ekezie Jr., one of the top players in the 2027 class and a Kentucky Basketball target, has made his decision.
Ekezie, the fourth overall-ranked prospect and second-ranked center, has committed to the school down the road, the Louisville Cardinals, and will reclassify to 2026, choosing them over other finalists, Arkansas, BYU, Kentucky, and Maryland.
On3’s Joe Tipton broke the news Sunday.
Ekezie, the son of former NBA player Obinna Ekezie Sr., actually lived in Louisville for a year after moving to Nigeria when he was 14 years old. While short, he has always talked positively of his time in the Derby City before moving to California to play for Prolific Prep, and now Florida with Southeastern Prep.
One of Kentucky’s first offers in the 2027 class, Ekezie has been a longtime UK target, receiving an offer back in September of 2024. Since then, the staff has visited Ekezie multiple times, even as recently as this past April, and hosted him last fall for the Purdue exhibition.
Despite Kentucky’s efforts, unfortunately, the Wildcats weren’t even Louisville’s biggest competition for Ekezie; that would be John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
In the end, Pat Kelsey’s pitch to develop behind a preseason All-American in Flory Bidunga and the top NIL offer won out.
Mark Pope is still in search of his first top-10 prospect in his tenure at Kentucky.