< PreviousKENTUCKY BASKETBALL 38 @KentuckyMBB38 @KentuckyMBB 2022-23 Freshman: Played in 16 games off the bench … Averaged 2.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shot per game … Chipped in with seven points, 10 boards and a team-high three rejections in a win over North Florida … Post- ed six points and three blocks in the win over South Carolina State … Had a game-high 10 rebounds and added nine points and three blocks in win over Duquesne … Named to First-Year SEC Honor Roll. High School Reclassified to the 2022 class … Ranked as a top-25 prospect in the 2023 class by all of the major scouting services … Spent his senior season at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut, the same program that for- mer Wildcat Hamidou Diallo hailed from … Joined Putnam in January and the squad was a perfect 20-0 with Onyenso on the roster, including winning a national championship … Playing at the NBA Academy Games in the summer of 2022, he scored in double figures in each of the six games he appeared … Averaged 13.2 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game, while also connecting on 64.4% of his field-goal attempts … Reg- istered 32 total boards (5.3 per game) on the offensive end … Prior to enrolling at Putnam, he attended NBA Academy Africa for more than two years … During his time with the academy, he participated in a number of high-profile international competitions in Eu- rope, Mexico and the United States, includ- ing the Tarkanian Classic and NBA Academy exhibition games … He helped NBA Acade- my Africa win the European Youth Basketball League Tournament in Hungary … In Febru- ary of 2020, he became one of the youngest players ever to make the senior men’s Nigeri- an National Team … Made his debut with the team at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers in November of 2021. Personal Born Sept. 25 in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria … Parents are Martins and Lilian Chinyere … Has four siblings, Ikenna, Chiwendu, Chidin- ma and Queen … His mom is his life’s great- est influence … Enjoys listening to music and playing video games away from the court … His pregame playlist consists of Lil Durk and Lil Baby … Superpower he most wishes he had is the ability to teleport … Giannis An- tetokounmpo is his favorite basketball play- er and Anthony Davis is his favorite former UK player … Lists his most memorable mo- ment as a basketball player as helping his high school win a national championship … Chose Kentucky over the University of Okla- homa, Oklahoma State and Kansas. Follow UGONNA on Social Media n @OnyensoUgonna on Twitter/X n @kingsugo_ on Instagram UGONNA ONYENSO 6-11 n 225 n So. n Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria #33 n F KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 40 @KentuckyMBB40 @KentuckyMBB 2022-23 Senior: Named Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year … Saw action in all 34 games, making 14 starts …. Ranked second on the team with 14.4 points per game, while making a team-high 80 3-pointers … The 80 makes are the 12th most in a single season in UK history … Shot 39.8% from deep … Had four 20-plus- point performances off of the bench, the most in John Calipari’s tenure … Scored in double figures in 26 contests, including 10 20-point games … Poured in a game-high 22 points in the NCAA Tournament win over Providence … Scored a career-high 37 points on 12 of 17 from the field and a perfect 11 for 11 from the free-throw line in win at Arkansas … Posted a team-high 22 points and added a pair of steals in the SEC Tournament vs. Vanderbilt … Poured in 21 points, connecting on 4 of 7 from deep, in win over Auburn … Scored 16 points and added a season-high four assists in the win at Florida … Went for 20 points and a season-high-tying six boards while playing all 40 minutes at Georgia … Had 27 points, six 3-pointers and a season-high two steals in the win at Ole Miss … Scored 10 points and dished out a season-high-tying three assists against No. 9 Kansas … Poured in a game- high 23 points, including five 3-pointers, in win against Texas A&M … Scored a team-high 18 points, connecting on all eight free throws in win at No. 5 Tennessee … Scored a game- high 20 points while pulling down four boards at Alabama … Had 11 points, including three first-half 3-pointers in the win over Michigan … Led the team with 18 points in the win against Bellarmine … Scored a team-high- tying 20 points and added a season-best six boards in the win over North Florida … Chart- ed a team-high 18 points with four 3s against Duquesne … Led the Cats with 22 points in season-opener against Howard, including go- ing 6 of 12 from deep, the most made threes for a UK player in their debut. 2021-22 (at Illinois State) Started all 33 games … Averaged 20.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game … Had 662 points in 33 games which was the fourth- most in Redbirds’ history … He was the first Il- linois State player to average at least 20 points per game in a season since 2001 … Named to the Missouri Valley Conference Second Team and was a team captain on the ALL- MVC Most Improved Team … Also a member of the All-District 16 team from the National Association of Basketball Coaches … Scored in double figures in 31 of 33 games … Had 18 games with 20 or more points, which was tied for the sixth-most in program history … Finished the season ranking 19th among all Division I scorers with 20.1 points per game Follow ANTONIO on Social Media n @ToniooReeves on Twitter/X n @tonioreeves on Instagram ANTONIO REEVES 6-5 n 205 n 5th n Chicago #12 n G … Had a career-high 34 points with five 3-pointers against Valparaiso … Was an ef- ficient scorer, making 47% of his shots from the field, 39% from 3-point range and 82% from the free-throw line. 2020-21 (at Illinois State) Played in 25 games during the season with 24 starts … Averaged 12.4 points per game, second-most on the team and 13th-most in the Missouri Valley Conference, and ninth-most among returnees for the 2021- 22 season … Scored in double-figures 19 times during the year, including each of the last five games … Scored a career-high 27 points at Drake, making 8-of-16 shots from the field, 3 of 5 from long range, and 8 of 9 from the charity stripe … For the year he made 110-of-259 shots (42.5%) from the field and 33 of 108 (30.6%) from beyond the arc … Pulled down 82 rebounds (3.3 per game) with 36 assists (1.4 per game) and also had nine steals … His season-high of seven rebounds came in the season open- er against Ohio State … Scored 20 or more points three times … Had 21 against Evans- ville, notched 27 points in the series opener against Drake, and also 20 points in the se- ries finale against Drake. 2019-20 (at Illinois State) Was named to the MVC All-Bench Team … Averaged 7.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game during the season … Played in 31 games with a trio of starts … Scored in dou- ble-figures 10 times during the season, in- cluding a season-high 17 points against Mis- souri State … Had 16 points against Missouri State and against Drake … Pulled down a season-high seven rebounds against Drake … Had two assists in seven games … Made 81-of-211 shots from the field during the season, and 33 of 105 from beyond the arc. High School Was a three-star prospect out of Simeon High School in Chicago … Averaged 21.7 points, six boards and three assists per game … Was an All-City Second-Team selection … Began his high school career at Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix … Played for Mike Bibby at Shadow Mountain and the squad went 25-2 overall and captured a state title … Averaged 14.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during the state title sea- son … Had a 3.0 grade-point average. Personal Born Nov. 20 in Chicago … Parents are Dawn Coulter and Anthony Reeves … Has four siblings, Anthony Marshall, Alexis, Malik and Angelic … Major is communica- tion … He chose No. 12 because he’s been wearing it since his freshman season … Fa- ther is his life’s greatest influence … Lists Bad Boys as his favorite movie … Pregame playlist consists of hip hop music … Favorite former UK player is Tyler Herro … Off the court talent is drawing. KENTUCKY BASKETBALL @UKSportsNetwork 41KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 42 @KentuckyMBB42 @KentuckyMBB High School Rated as high as No. 22 overall by ESPN … McDonald’s All-American … Mr. Kentucky Basketball in 2023 … Helped Team Ohio to win Junior International Championship in Italy and earned MVP honors after scoring 26 points in the title game … Averaged 22.5 points, 8.5 assists and 8.4 rebounds per game … Finished high school career with 3,727 ca- reer points … Led North Laurel to the state Sweet 16, averaging 25.2 points, 7.6 assists, 6.8 rebounds and 4.4 steals per game as a junior… 2022 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year. Personal Born June 24 in London, Kentucky … Parents are Jeff and Stacey Sheppard … Has a sis- ter, Madison … Parents both played college basketball at Kentucky … His father was the MVP of the 1998 Final Four and won two national championships … Lists his most memorable moment as a basketball player as winning a high school regional … Honor Roll student … His most prized possession is his dog … Chose No. 15 because it’s the number his father wore at Kentucky … Favorite food is steak … Favorite movie is Hoosiers … Pre- game superstition is taking a nap … Dunked for the first time in eighth grade … Lists Chris Paul as his favorite player and Devin Book- er as his favorite Wildcat … Chose Kentucky over Indiana and Louisville. Follow REED on Social Media n @reed_sheppard on Twitter/X n @reedsheppard3 on Instagram REED SHEPPARD 6-3 n 180 n Fr. n London, Ky. #15 n G KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 44 @KentuckyMBB44 @KentuckyMBB 2022-23 Freshman: Saw action in 20 games in his first collegiate season … Averaged 2.3 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in 9.5 minutes per outing … Led the team in steals in four games and paced the squad in blocks three times … Scored a season-high seven points, hauled in five boards, added a pair of assists and a steal in the road win at Arkansas … Hit a 3-pointer in the home win over Auburn … Scored four points and pulled down four boards in eight minutes at Mississippi State … Tallied four points and induced two steals in the upset win at Tennessee … Scored five points and had three boards at Missouri … Tallied five points and a pair of blocks against North Florida … Had six points in the win over South Carolina State … Had four points and five rebounds in his collegiate debut against Howard. High School A combo guard … Averaged 23.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.3 blocks per game and directed Quaker Valley to a 27-1 record and a 14-0 mark in league play … Scored 18 points in the 2022 PIAA Boys’ Basketball Championships in the team’s only loss of the season against Neu- mann-Goretti … Finished his career with 1,624 career points which ranked as the third most in team history … Named the 4A Play- er of the Year, the WPIAL Player of the Year and the 2022 TribLive HSSN Boys Basketball Player of the Year … Had a 44-point perfor- mance against Hopewell which snapped the school’s single-game scoring record … Also scored 40 points against Highlands in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Showcase … Had 21 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds and seven blocks in a state tournament second-round victory against Belle Vernon … Logged 31 points, 17 rebounds and seven swats in the WPIAL Class 4A championship … Led Quak- er Valley in scoring as a sophomore with 17.7 points per game … As a junior, he tallied 21.8 points per game … Also competed in soccer and lacrosse … Worked with the Gear Up Ségou community service project. Personal Born May 8 in Utah … Parents are Mariam Sy and Almamy Thiero … Has three siblings, Oumou, Yassa, Nudiya … Major is communi- cation … Away from the court he enjoys play- ing video games … Chose No. 3 because it was the same number his father wore … Most prized possession is his shoe collection … Fa- vorite food is chicken and shrimp alfredo … Favorite TV show is Power … Chose Kentucky over Xavier, Duquesne, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Maryland. Follow ADOU on Social Media n @adou_thiero on Twitter/X n @adou_thiero on Instagram ADOU THIERO 6-6 n 200 n So. n Leetsdale, Pa. #3 n G KENTUCKY BASKETBALL 46 @KentuckyMBB High School Rated as high as No. 4 by both ESPN and 247Sports … McDonald’s All-American Game MVP … Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year for three straight seasons … Mem- ber of USA Men’s Nike Hoop Summit team … 2023 Iverson Classic Co-MVP … Iverson Classic 3-point Champion … Iverson Clas- sic National High School Player of the Year … Stephen Jackson Community Leadership Award winner … NJ.com First-Team All-State … Averaged 19.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.1 steals per contest as a junior, helping Camden to the NJSIAA Group 2 state championship. Personal Born May 4 in Camden, New Jersey … Par- ents are Syreeta Brittingham and Dajuan Wanger … Father played college basketball at Memphis for John Calipari and was draft- ed sixth overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2002 … Grandfather is Milt Wagner who won a national championship at Louisville in 1986 and was a second round pick by the Dallas Mavericks in 1986 … Siblings are Dayonni Wagner and Kareem Watkins … Lists his parents as his life’s greatest influenc- es … Favorite movie is Paid in Full … Plays video games and watches movies in his free time … Dunked for the first time in eighth grade … Lists teleportation and invisibility as two superpowers he wishes he had … Off the court talent is drawing … Tyler Ulis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist are his favorite former Wildcats. Follow D.J. on Social Media n @dj_wag21 on Instagram D.J. WAGNER 6-3 n 175 n Fr. n Camden, N.J. #21 n G Next >