Roundtable: What we’re expecting from the Wildcats in Year 3 of the Pope era
The Inside Kentucky Basketball staff discusses players to watch, keys to a successful season, potential areas of concern and much more before tonight's opener.
Recruiting
Star recruit Benjamin Berrouet's visit to Kentucky ‘set the standard’ for what's next
Richard Berrouet, the father of the five-star power forward, talks to Inside Kentucky Basketball about the family's recent visit to Lexington and their thoughts on UK.
3 min read
When the family of five-star power forward Benjamin Berrouet planned his schedule of official visits, they made it a priority to begin in Lexington.
"We wanted to make Kentucky the first official visit because Kentucky is a legacy program," Richard Berrouet, Benjamin's father, told Inside Kentucky Basketball. "(Kentucky) does wonders for athletes of this caliber, and the coaching staff is impeccable. You have Mo Williams, you have Mark Pope, you have Coach (Mikhail) McLean. I mean, those coaches right there know how to basically develop a player like Benji, so we wanted to make Kentucky the premier visit, which will set the standard going forward.”
Berrouet, a native of McKinney, Texas, recently shot up to No. 5 in the 247Sports rankings for the class of 2028, solidifying his status as a top prep player in the country after an outstanding summer.
A 6-foot-7, 240-pound power forward, Berrouet led Latvia to the FIBA U16 EuroBasket title and earned MVP honors after averaging 23.5 points, 15.0 rebounds and 3.5 blocks over seven games. Berrouet was also a standout in Nike EYBL play, averaging a double-double with over 20 points and nearly 12 rebounds per game.
Add in the possibility that Berrouet could reclassify into the 2027 class and play college basketball next season, and it was equally important that Kentucky put itself in position to land the unique talent.
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