247Sports discusses what to expect from trio of Kentucky five-star freshmen in 2023-24

Justin Edwards, DJ Wagner, and Aaron Bradshaw are key pieces for John Calipari and the Wildcats in the upcoming college basketball campaign.

The 2023 recruiting class has been considered weak by media outlets for multiple years now, in part because of COVID, which impacted development for this group of high school standouts.

That certainly didn't deter John Calipari and Kentucky from heavily pursuing the top talent in this class, landing three five-stars and multiple other top 100 prospects, who they will be heavily reliant on this season thanks to a relatively inexperienced group of returnees, headlined by guard Antonio Reeves and West Virginia transfer forward Tre Mitchell.

Eric Bossi at 247Sports wrote up a piece on what to expect from the five-stars in this class, with discussion on Justin Edwards, DJ Wagner, and Aaron Bradshaw.

Edwards is ranked No. 3 at 247Sports, labeled as a polished wing scorer who is "wired to get buckets with efficiency." However, Bossi wonders about his ability to adjust to having more ball-dominant guards around him, like Wagner, Reeves, and Rob Dillingham.

Bradshaw comes in at No. 5 in the class, although his injury status and occasional disappearing act in high school makes him more of an enigma for the Wildcats right now, especially after missing the summer and now the start of the season, with a timetable still unknown for his return.

Wagner comes up next on the list, and his transition from pure scorer to playmaker is one of the biggest storylines not just for him, or for Kentucky, but for the 2024 NBA draft as well.

"He’s too competitive and accomplished to not have some really impressive moments," Bossi writes. "It'll just be a matter of how efficient he can be. If his first step is as deadly in college as it was in high school, then look out."

Calipari and the Wildcats will need all three of these guys, as well as Dillingham, Reed Sheppard, and Zvonimir Ivisic, to play well in their first college season if they want to succeed in the SEC and into the NCAA Tournament.

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