Four Years Ago, Jerone Morton Won a Title at Rupp. Kentucky Never Called. On Friday, He Came Home Anyway.

In March 2022, Jerone Morton walked off the floor at Rupp Arena as a state champion — 14 points in the title game, Sweet 16 MVP, a Lexington kid in front of his hometown crowd. Kentucky never offered. He went to Morehead State, then Washington State, where last year he started 29 of 32 games and shot 38.7% from three. On Friday, while the talk shows screamed bottom-five-in-the-SEC, Morton signed with the Wildcats and said this: "It's a dream come true for me and my dad and my whole family. We've grown up in Lexington, now we're playing at Kentucky." That's the part of college basketball the rankings don't measure.