All of the 7-footers are gone. Which big men can Mark Pope get for first UK basketball roster?

The Kentucky basketball team’s seven-footers for the 2023–24 season are all going to be leaving Lexington. Both freshman big men Aaron Bradshaw (Ohio State) and Zvonimir Ivisic (Arkansas), who came to play for the Wildcats after 15 seasons as head coach, have declared that they intend to transfer from the UK to other schools in the wake of the historic coaching change. In the day following the official introduction of UK alumni Mark Pope as Calipari’s replacement, sophomore centre Ugonna Onyenso made known his intention to enter the 2024 NBA draft.

Therefore, none of the three 7-footers from Calipari’s last Kentucky squad will be important to UK basketball under Pope in the future. Pope has a lot of work ahead of him when it comes to putting together his first Kentucky basketball team, as evidenced by the players who have committed to other schools, left via the transfer site, and declared for the NBA draft. The class of 2024 has six players. Securing the arrival of some large men in Lexington is a top aim in this broader player recruitment process.

rookie guards Jordan Burks and Reed Sheppard, the winner of the national rookie of the year award from the Kentucky squad last season, still have to decide whether to stay or depart. Furthermore, Burks is not Kentucky’s centre of the future, despite the fact that he was substituted at the “5” position for UK last season due to a slew of early-season availability concerns.

In light of everything mentioned above, here are some big guys that Pope might sign with through regular high school recruitment as well as the NCAA transfer portal.