Kentucky signees Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Andrew Carr (Wake Forest) and Amari Williams (Drexel) all withdrew from the 2024 NBA Draft on Tuesday and will play for the Wildcats next season. 

But as Wednesday’s withdrawal deadline looms, all eyes will be on BYU guard Jaxson Robinson. 

Robinson, who declared for the 2024 NBA Draft on April 23 and also entered the transfer portal days ahead of the May 1 deadline, has until 11:59 PM ET Wednesday to pull out of the draft and return to college. 

After missing on North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier, who committed to Tennessee last week, Mark Pope is hoping his old Kentucky home will be Robinson’s new Kentucky home. 

Robinson, who played for Pope for the last two seasons with the Cougars, was named Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year after averaging a team-high 14.2 points while shooting 35.4% from 3-point range and 90.8% from the free throw line as a senior this season. The 6-foot-7 guard scored a season-high 28 points in a win over Denver; 25 points on five made 3s in the Cougars’ NCAA Tournament loss to Duquesne, and had 18 points in an upset win at No. 7 Kansas. 

Robinson is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 36 transfer in the transfer portal during the 2024 cycle.

Although Kansas and a return to BYU have been mentioned as potential options, Sarah Todd, who covers the NBA and the Utah Jazz for the Deseret News, recently reported that Kentucky is the likely destination for Robinson if he returns to school.

“There isn’t anyone that believes any schools other than Kentucky and BYU have a shot at landing Robinson, but there does seem to be a consensus about what will happen if he chooses to return to the college ranks,” Todd wrote. “Multiple sources close to the situation told the Deseret News that if Robinson decides to withdraw from the draft, they fully expect him to be playing for Kentucky next season.”

Pope spent time in Chicago earlier this month scouting Robinson and others at the NBA Draft Combine and Todd reports the two have remained close throughout the process. 

“For Jackson, in just in talking with him, he talks to Mark Pope on a really regular basis, nearly every day. Mark Pope has already been pitching him and he’s pretty respectful about it, but there’s an understanding that he knows that Pope wants him,” Todd said. “I don’t think that it’s going to be based on any sort of NIL money or something, garnered that way. I think that this is going to be based on what he thinks his best chances are and then outside of that, if he ends up going back to the collegiate ranks, it’s going to be based on familiarity.”

In addition to Robinson, Kentucky has also been recruiting Miami transfer Wooga Poplar, who has also yet to announce his decision regarding the NBA Draft, in an attempt to round out its 2024-25 roster.