Luigi Suigo Says Kentucky Didn't Want to 'Risk' Recruiting Him Due to NBA Draft

Luigi Suigo, a 7-foot-3 center from Mega Superbet of the Serbian League and ABA League, is a player that’s been on Kentucky’s radar for years. However, as he goes through the NBA Combine, Suigo tells reporters it’s likely he’ll go to Villanova or BYU.

So, why has Kentucky fallen off in that recruitment? Suigo told reporters that several schools, including Kentucky, didn’t want to risk recruiting him if he stayed in the NBA Draft. Other schools included in that position are St. John’s, Duke, and North Carolina, per Kevin Connelly of Sports Illustrated.

Suigo added that Rick Pitino saw him practice in Italy. He said St. John’s, Duke, Kentucky, and UNC are schools who didn’t want to take the risk of recruiting him if stays in the NBA Draft and would be left trying to fill that position #SJUBB
— Kevin Connelly (@KevinConnelly24) May 13, 2026

Villanova has had a lot of buzz in Suigo’s recruitment during the NBA Draft process. Jonathan Givony of Draft Express posted on Tuesday that he “appears to be Villanova-bound.”

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However, there’s still the prospect of staying in the draft. Suigo told Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated that while the NBA is his top priority, he’d need to be “probably top 20” in this draft to not go to college next year.

Instead of waiting on Suigo to make his NBA Draft decision, Kentucky will be awaiting one from another center. Malachi Moreno continues to go through the draft process, but hasn’t been scrimmaging. His draft decision is one Big Blue Nation will be watching closely over these next couple of weeks.