Kentucky goes international. Here’s every UK men’s basketball player born outside the U.S.
By Cameron Drummond,
8 hours ago
As Kerr Kriisa made his way down the “blue carpet” at Rupp Arena on Friday night prior to Big Blue Madness , there was no mistaking his home nation.
Kriisa’s outfit was essentially a walking advertisement for Estonia, the northern European country where he was born. He was decked out in an Estonia beanie and Olympic T-shirt, and he carried a small Estonian flag for good measure.
In case it wasn’t clear, Kriisa is immensely proud of the fact that he will soon become the first man from Estonia to play college basketball at Kentucky.
Mark Pope’s first UK basketball roster — which doesn’t feature a single scholarship player who has previously played for the Wildcats — includes two players born outside the United States: Kriisa and frontcourt player Amari Williams, who is from England.
Once Kriisa and Williams log their first official minutes for the No. 23-ranked Wildcats during the Nov. 4 season opener against Wright State, they will increase the number of all-time, international-born UK men’s basketball players to 22.
The majority of these international players at Kentucky came to Lexington while John Calipari led the program. During the 15-season Calipari era, 14 international players logged game time for the Wildcats.
Six international players were at UK prior to Calipari, with the first one being Canada’s Jamaal Magloire in 1996.
Here’s a country-by-country breakdown (sorted alphabetically) of the now 15 countries, other than the United States, that Kentucky basketball players have called home.
The lone Aussie to play for Kentucky was Humphries, who participated in 61 games and made two starts across two seasons in Lexington. Prior to his time at Kentucky, he played prep basketball at La Lumiere School in Indiana.
In November 2022, Humphries became the first professional basketball player “in a top-tier” men’s league to announce he’s gay, according to ESPN.
Former Kentucky basketball guard Jamal Murray is one of seven players from Canada who have suited up for the Wildcats. Jonathan Palmer
By far the most fruitful international hub for Kentucky men’s basketball talent has been Canada, a nation which has produced seven former Wildcats.
Of these players, Magloire has particular distinction. When he joined the Wildcats in 1996, Magloire became the first non-U.S.-born player to appear in a game for Kentucky. Additionally, he won a national championship with the Cats in 1998.
After recent one-and-done seasons at UK, both Gilgeous-Alexander and Murray have become full-blown NBA superstars.
Tshiebwe needs no introduction after recently being the face of the UK men’s basketball program.
While Tshiebwe’s two Kentucky teams combined for just one NCAA Tournament win, his individual prowess was remarkable.
Tshiebwe earned national player of the year accolades from all six NCAA-recognized outlets — Sporting News, Associated Press, United States Basketball Writers’ Association, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Naismith Trophy and Wooden Award — following the 2021-22 season, becoming the first player in program history to do so.
Croatian Zvonimir Ivisic had an eventful season in Lexington with the Kentucky men’s basketball team during the 2023-24 campaign. Silas Walker/Herald-Leader
Ivisic — who before arriving at UK played for SC Derby, a basketball team based in Montenegro — is the only player from Croatia to have played for Kentucky. He earned this distinction when he made a memorable college basketball debut in January. Against Georgia in front of a raucous Rupp Arena crowd, Ivisic had 13 points, five rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals.
Ivisic’s Kentucky debut was delayed last season while the NCAA spent several months reviewing his eligibility.
A late arrival in the 2023 recruiting class, Ivisic is now at Arkansas, having followed Calipari there as a transfer this offseason.
Vargas began his college career at Florida, transferred to a junior college and then spent two seasons at UK, winning a national championship as a senior in 2012.
Amari Williams, who previously played at Drexel, will soon become the second men’s player from England to compete in college basketball at Kentucky. Tasha Poullard/tpoullard@herald-leader.com
The 7-foot Williams previously played four seasons at Drexel, and he was the first transfer portal pickup for Pope this offseason at Kentucky.
Williams was a three-time conference defensive player of the year at Drexel. During his time with the Dragons, Williams played in 105 career games and had averages of 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.6 assists per contest.
Williams graduated from Myerscough College in England and has represented Great Britain in international youth basketball competitions.
The 6-foot-3 Kriisa is now at his third college. He began his college career with three seasons at Arizona and played last season at West Virginia.
Kriisa was suspended for nine games last season at West Virginia after admitting to receiving impermissible benefits while he was at Arizona. Before coming to the United States to play college basketball, Kriisa played for two teams in Lithuania.
Kriisa — who has a tattoo of the outline of Estonia on his left arm — boasts plenty of past experience playing for Estonia’s senior and junior national teams. Kriisa’s father, Valmo, was a pro basketball player in Estonia.
A three-year player at Kentucky who totaled 105 games and 70 starts for the Wildcats, Richards made a big leap during his junior season: He led the 2019-20 Wildcats in rebounding with 7.8 per game and was tied for second on the team in scoring (Tyrese Maxey) with an average of 14.0 points.
Richards was a 2017 McDonald’s All-American out of The Patrick School in New Jersey.
Wynyard arrived in Lexington as a midyear enrollee in December 2015 but redshirted the remainder of that season.
He appeared in just 23 career games as a Wildcat. His sophomore season was cut short due to a back injury.
After announcing that he would transfer from UK in April 2018, Wynyard committed to Santa Clara but never played for the Broncos, ultimately choosing to return to New Zealand to continue his basketball career.
Ugonna Onyenso played two seasons at Kentucky before transferring this offseason to Kansas State. Silas Walker/Herald-Leader
Onyenso was a late addition to the 2022-23 Kentucky team and only played sparingly as a freshman. After briefly being in the NCAA transfer portal following his freshman season, Onyenso returned to Kentucky for his sophomore campaign, which was delayed by a left foot injury.
Last season, Onyenso set a new Rupp Arena record for blocks by a Kentucky player. Onyenso had 10 blocks in a February home win over Ole Miss, which matched the overall Rupp Arena mark for blocks by any player (Navy’s David Robinson in 1987).
After first declaring for the 2024 NBA draft, Onyenso opted to again enter the transfer portal this offseason. This time, he went through with finding a new school. Onyenso will play at Kansas State this season.
A four-year Wildcat, Obrzut played in 123 total games for Kentucky with 18 starts and has remained in the commonwealth long after his basketball career ended.
It took five years for Camara to play four seasons at Kentucky: He was suspended for the 2000-01 season after violating UK’s student-athlete alcohol policy and being convicted of driving under the influence.
On the court, Camara played in 136 games at Kentucky and averaged at least three rebounds and four points per game in all four of his seasons with the Wildcats.
He played prep basketball at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia.
A two-year player at UK, Gabriel averaged more than five points and five rebounds per game across 75 games with the Wildcats.
He played his prep basketball in the northeast before coming to Lexington.
Note: At least two additional international-born players have spent time on Kentucky’s roster but have never appeared in a game. Enes Kanter (2010-11) was born in Switzerland and Shaedon Sharpe (2021-22) was born in Canada.
Wenyen Gabriel is the only Kentucky men’s basketball player to have been born in Sudan. Alex Slitz/Herald-Leader
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