re: Arkansas Basketball 2025 (and beyond) Recruiting Thread **F Karim Rtail Commits**

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Karter Knox, the No. 20 overall recruit in the 2024 class, has committed to John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks, he tells 247Sports.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pounds small forward out of Atlanta (Ga.) Overtime Elite was previously committed to Kentucky and is the first member of the Wilcats' 2024 class to follow Calipari to Fayetteville.

"It was really the right fit for me," Knox said of why he chose Arkansas. "You know Cal is a winning coach and you have KP as the assistant coach, it's basically moving Kentucky to Arkansas, just picking up the headquarters and playing for a winning coach."

Knox is currently wrapping up an official visit to Arkansas but isn't even making it off campus before making his decision.

"It's my first time being at Arkansas so it's something different," he said of his experience on campus so far. "I am still learning the 'woo pig sooie' call but the campus is great, the basketball facilities, campus, everything is great."

Knox is the younger brother of Kevin Knox Jr, former 5 star recruit that played for Calipari at Kentucky and was recruited by new Arkansas Associate Head Coach, Kenny Payne.

Knox and Payne have developed a really strong relationship over the years dating back to Knox Jr.'s recruitment and consecutively coaching Knox Jr with the New York Knicks.

"It was just crazy," said of the moment he learned Payne would be a Razorback. "My brother had Kenny Payne and Coach Cal at Kentucky and now I am getting it at Arkansas. It's really the best of both worlds and a dream come true."

Knox is Arkansas' second roster addition joining Zvonimisir Ivisic as Calipari begins a complete overhaul.

"I will bring everything to the table," said Knox. "My three-level scoring, my defense, my toughness, I will do anything to win and win a National Championship."

"We are trying to win a National Championship," he added. "He told me nothing has changed. Everything I wanted to do at Kentucky, we can do at Arkansas."

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Arkansas basketball landed its first commitment of the John Calipari era when four-star prospect and 2024 McDonald's All-American Karter Knox committed to the Razorbacks on Monday evening. Knox announced the decision with a post on X (formerly Twitter).

According to the 247Sports recruiting rankings, Knox is currently rated as the No. 20 overall player in the class of 2024, the sixth-best small forward and second-best prospect in the state of Georgia. He is considered a five-star prospect and ranked the No. 22 player in this cycle by the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Knox arrived in town for his official visit on Monday afternoon and reportedly committed shortly after his visit began. The decision comes after Knox decommitted from Kentucky on April 8 and reopened his recruitment. He originally committed to Kentucky back on March 9 over Louisville, USF, the NBA G League and an additional year at Overtime Elite. Ironically, the rising forward also held a scholarship offer from Arkansas as well as Auburn, Florida State and Illinois among others.

"Coach Calipari has sent a lot of people to the league, and I want to be a pro," Knox said following his commitment earlier this spring. "He told me he's going to make me a pro. I'm ready to hoop and win a national championship."

Knox was recruited by Eric Musselman and the previous Arkansas staff early on, before Kentucky became the favorite, so there's a small connection between the program and Knox that isn't Calipari-related.

Scouting Report from Adam Finkelstein:

Knox is a true three-range scorer on the wing. He's not quite as big as advertised, but he compensates with long arms, a naturally strong build, soft hands, good timing in a variety of different circumstances, and a versatile skill-set.

While he's a shooting threat from three with a soft natural ball and compact release, and even capable of making some threes on the move, he's proven to be most efficient inside the arc to this point in his career. He has very good perimeter footwork, can attack to either side off the dribble without wasting much motion, and play through contact while doing so. He is a consistent pull-up threat in the mid-range area and showing an increased willingness to punish smaller defenders in the post. He's shown flashes of passing ability and unselfishness, and is also a quality rebounder on the wing.

Defensively, he's not the most laterally quick, but has enough size and length to be effective. The key is being consistently locked in though as he has times, particularly with his high school team, where he's shown less sense of urgency on that end of the floor.

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