Kentucky women’s basketball offers three high school recruits following live period

Another brief evaluation period has passed, and the Kentucky women’s basketball coaching staff took advantage of the opportunity to witness recruiting targets at several national showcase tournaments.

Outside of a few exceptions, most of the calendar from April 4-July 31 is classified by the NCAA as a quiet period for Division I women’s basketball. During this quiet period “it is permissible to make in-person recruiting contacts only on the member institution’s campus.” However, during an evaluation period, the NCAA deems it “permissible for authorized athletic department staff members to be involved in off-campus activities designed to assess the academic qualifications and playing ability of prospective student-athletes.”

While in-person or off-campus recruiting contacts aren’t allowed during evaluation periods, they’re often chock-full of opportunities to watch potential recruits shine.

The UK coaching staff split up to take advantage of the April 21-23 evaluation period at the following AAU tournaments:

▪ Boo Williams Girls Nike Invitational in Hampton, Va.

▪ The Clash in Cincinnati.

▪ The Heart of Texas Showcase in Mansfield, Texas.

▪ Live! At the Nook! in Manheim, Pa.

Here’s a breakdown of a few recruits who caught the coaching staff’s attention and received scholarship offers from the Wildcats.

Lorena Awou, 6-5 F (2024)

East Moline, Illinois.

High School: United Township High School.

AAU: Midwest Elite EYBL.

Offers: Penn State, Michigan, South Carolina State, Florida, Illinois State, UK.

Awou announced via Twitter on April 25 that she had received her first-ever Division I offer from the Wildcats. She has since picked up four others, including three from Power Five programs. Awou joined Midwest Elite EYBL in January of this year.

Midwest Elite Coach Lamarcus Banks said Awou, competitive and determined, didn’t start playing basketball until seventh grade, when she played with the park district and on her middle school team. Banks said that Awou, now standing 6-foot-5, has an impressive amount of control and coordination for someone who “just started growing like a weed.” He also said that they’ve seen a tremendous amount of growth in her game since she joined the program only a few months ago.

Midwest Elite Coach Lamarcus Banks:

▪ On Awou’s defense:

Despite her height and, Banks noted, her strength, Awou possesses quite a bit of speed.

“Because she is so agile,” Banks said. “And because she moves so fast, she is extremely solid defensively. The thing that will surprise you about her defensively is how well she moves and she can actually defend on the perimeter. She can keep people in front of her and then just naturally she’s good on defense in the post because of her size and strength.”

Banks said that, because Awou is still building her basketball IQ, she’s working toward being able to guard all five positions.

“I wouldn’t say she can defend small, small guards until she gets that IQ, which she’s been working on,” Banks said. “She thinks that she’s supposed to play defense on the perimeter like a guard. She wants to come all the way up on you and pressure you. And I’m like, ‘Hey, you’re 6-5, you can be three steps away and that’s still pressure.’ So, she hasn’t learned that part of the game yet. When you take her out on the perimeter and just try to dribble around her, you’ll be surprised how fast she can move her feet. And by being 6-5, she’s gonna recover quite fast. She is a good shot-blocker, even out of help she’s a shot blocker.”

▪ On Awou’s offense:

According to Banks, Awou’s outside shooting hasn’t transferred to games yet, but she is more than capable of knocking down a shot. He recalled one of the first times he watched her play, when he was shocked by how many shots she hit.

“Because she has great hands and a soft touch (around the rim),” Banks said. “Then naturally, that blends over to an outside shot. She’s just scratching the surface on her outside shot. … But if you watch her in practice or warm-ups, she has a stroke.”

Banks went on to say that, even more impressively, Awou can put the ball on the floor and match up well in one-on-one situations.

“If she’s one-on-one, she can absolutely put the ball on the floor and get around you,” Banks said. “Because of that first step, I mean from the top of the key she only needs one dribble. But where she needs to get more experience is when she gets in traffic. But for someone her size, I think she’s above average from shooting it from outside and for putting the ball on the floor.”

Caliyah ‘Lil Bit’ DeVillasee, 5-7 PG (2025)

Baltimore, Maryland.

High School: Our Lady of Good Counsel.

AAU: Elevate Elite.

Offers: Coppin State, Elon, George Mason, Towson, Delaware, William and Mary, Marshall, Providence, UK, Syracuse, Pitt, Boston College, Penn State.

DeVillasee announced via Twitter on April 24 that she received a UK offer. She also holds a slew of other offers, in the Power Five and beyond. DeVillasee has played with Elevate Elite since middle school.

Elevate Elite Coach Bruno Corras said that DeVillasee, a true point guard, has really grown as a leader over the years. He defined her as “a very passionate kid who gets her team pumped up.”

Elevate Elite coach Bruno Corras:

▪ On DeVillasee’s offense:

According to Corras, DeVillasee shines, in part, thanks to her court vision and willingness to share the ball.

“She is very dynamic,” Corras said. “Her vision, I think, is really elite. Like, she sees the floor extremely well. She knows when to score, and when to attack and create for others. So like she does a good job with her decision making. I think when she attacks, she knows, ‘All right, I can take this girl one-on-one, get to the bucket.’ Or, ‘Hey, the double-team is coming, I could find the person cutting to the basket for a layup.’ And that’s why a lot of teammates love playing with her. It’s because they know they’ll get the basketball. If they cut, if they run the floor, they know the ball is coming into them.”

Corras also said that DeVillasee has worked hard to improve her jump shot.

“I think she was more of a slasher back in middle school. And, her mid-range shot, I think, is one of the best around when it comes to a guard because she’s so good at getting to the middle, pulling up and has good height. When she gets up, she really gets up on her jump shot. So it’s really hard to stop because she’s so fast that guards have to kind of make sure they’re backing up off of her. And so she knows how to pull up and create the separation with that. And obviously, the three-point shot she can hit as well, when she’s open.”

▪ On DeVillasee’s defense:

“I think (defense is) an area she’s really focused on getting better at. Committing to it, being a better defender. Because she has all the tools to be one. She’s been really working at the energy and moving her feet better, and you can see the improvement from this year to last year, for those that have followed her. She’s just a better defender overall, she takes more pride on that end. She’s really good at anticipating passes, too, so when the ball’s on one side, she can read the pass, as well.”

Maya Nahar, 6-4 F (2025)

Hudson, Ohio.

High school: Western Reserve Academy.

AAU: United BBall Club (Louisville).

Offers: Davidson, Toledo, UK.

Both Nahar’s high school and club teams announced via Twitter on May 2 that she had received a UK offer.

In a tweet accompanying a link to Nahar’s hudl.com highlights, Western Reserve basketball described her as a player who runs the floor, as well as having grabbed more than 500 rebounds in two seasons.

You can find an updated scholarship chart for Kentucky women’s basketball at https://bit.ly/3LURL6z.