Kentucky basketball under Mark Pope: transfer portal news, 2024 roster, targets, prospects from top SEC analysts.

The wholesale evacuation of majority of the Kentucky basketball roster to the transfer portal typified the school’s offseason following John Calipari’s departure and Mark Pope’s hiring. Pope, on the other hand, is gradually replenishing the Wildcats’ talent pool, having just signed two Power-6 transfers. Last weekend, wing Otega Oweh from Oklahoma joined the 2023-24 Kentucky basketball roster, followed by forward Andrew Carr from Wake Forest. Last season, both players averaged double-digit points for their respective clubs and made at least 37% of their 3-point tries.

Pope still has work to do with Kentucky basketball recruits because the cupboard is bare. Four-star Travis Perry is the sole Class of 2024 candidate who has signed a letter of commitment with UK, but he is a big deal as the No. 1 prospect in the state of Kentucky, according to 247Sports. If you’re a Wildcats fan or simply want to stay up to date on roster updates and college basketball transfer portal news.

Kentucky basketball roster departures

The 2024-25 Kentucky basketball roster is quickly starting to take shape, as Pope landed another key player earlier this week. San Diego State transfer Lamont Butler, the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year last season, committed to Kentucky as one of the top players from the college basketball transfer portal. He averaged 9.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 27.6 minutes per game and has played in 11 career NCAA Tournament games.

Kentucky’s defense is already looking like a strength, as three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year Amari Williams also committed earlier this month. He averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.8 blocks per game for Drexel last season. Pope also has a pair of recruits committed in Travis Perry and Collin Chandler and is hosting multiple visitors in the coming days.

Kentucky basketball news, roster

The month of April ended on a high for Kentucky Wildcats basketball, as the program landed former five-star recruit Brandon Garrison. The center was the No. 45 overall prospect in the Class of 2023, started nearly every game of his lone season at Oklahoma State, and averaged 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds while ranking fifth in the Big 12 with 1.5 blocks. However, Garrison’s transfer was only the appetizer to how the month of May started for UK basketball.

On May 1, coach Pope snagged former Dayton standout Koby Brea from the college basketball transfer portal after he was a two-time Sixth Man of the Year award winner in the A-10. Brea is arguably the best shooter in college basketball and became the fourth player in Division I history to make 100 3-pointers on at least 50% of his attempts last season. Brea had double-digit scoring outings in both of his NCAA Tournament games last year and should be a perfect fit in Pope’s offense as his BYU team finished second in the country in 3-point attempts per game last season.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*