BY KEITH TAYLOR

Kentucky Today

Kentucky added a new member to its men’s basketball roster for next season on Monday.

Jordan Burks became the sixth freshman to sign with the Wildcats. Burks, a 6-foot-9, 190-pound forward from Kissimmee, Florida, averaged 27.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game with Overtime Elite last season. He scored 20 or more points on a routine basis, including a career-high 42 points.

“I’ve always been big on Kentucky because of the atmosphere and the culture,” Burks said. “I’ve been watching since I was a kid and seeing all of the players develop and progress into pros and compete for titles every year made this a place I wanted to play at.”

He added that he also wanted to “play with the top players in the country at the top basketball school in the country and develop my game under Coach Calipari, while working every day to win the national championship.” He joins an incoming freshman class that includes Aaron Bradshaw, Robert Dillingham, Justin Edwards, Reed Sheppard and DJ Wagner.

“I want to help this team win a national championship and create a bond with my teammates on and off the court,” he said. “I want to prepare myself to be in the best shape and be the most productive I can be for this team.”

Calipari said Burks has “good size and has the ability to be a prolific scorer.”

“His length allows him to play multiple positions, be dynamic in the open court, rebound at both ends and he can put it on the floor and score in a variety of ways,” Calipari said. “Jordan has challenged himself against the best of the best and wanted to continue to be pushed at the next level. I really love his toughness and his upside is tremendous, and that his dream since he was young was to play at Kentucky. I’m looking forward to getting in the gym and helping him take his game to new levels.”