UK confirms release of Stewart, Carter, and Williams

Cat Scratches – Kentucky’s bloated roster just got a little thinner Tuesday afternoon.

As anticipated, three UK players on scholarship – A.J. Stewart, Donald Williams and Jared Carter – will not return with UK next season. Each player was granted their release from the program.

Stewart, a junior-to-be, and Williams, a sophomore-to-be, have eligibility remaining and are eligible to transfer to another school. Because Carter missed almost an entire season after shoulder surgery, he could have applied for a medical redshirt for the upcoming season. It appears Tuesday’s decision effectively ends his college basketball career.

After weeks of speculation, the final news came of no real surprise. After the signing of six highly touted freshmen, it was evident new head coach John Calipari and his team had some tough decisions to make with only 13 scholarships available.

Even with Tuesday’s partings, Kentucky is still two over the limit, assuming Jodie Meeks returns for his senior season. If Meeks decides to come back for a final year, UK will have to trim two more players.

Several reports on Tuesday incorrectly indicated that DeAndre Liggins was one of the three players leaving the team. That decision has not been made or announced.

We could sit here and speculate who will and who won’t be with the team next year, but it’s unfair to the players, especially considering this is UK’s official Web site, so we’ll refrain.

I will say that there are likely three or four players who are in the mix, but those decisions have not been made and might not be for some time. With Meeks still in limbo, at least one of those decisions will come when Meeks reveals his hand. He has until June 15 to withdraw his name from the NBA Draft.

Until then, here is the current roster of scholarship players only for next season, including Meeks:

John Wall
DeMarcus Cousins
Darnell Dodson
Jon Hood
Daniel Orton
Eric Bledsoe
Patrick Patterson
Jodie Meeks
Perry Stevenson
Ramon Harris
Darius Miller
Kevin Galloway
Matt Pilgrim
Josh Harrellson
DeAndre Liggins