How does Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope’s first transfer haul stack up in the SEC?

LEXINGTON — With every scholarship player from Kentucky basketball’s 2023-24 roster departing (for either the NBA or a new college home), new coach Mark Pope had to rebuild in a hurry. And he did so the way nearly every program does in the modern game: via the transfer portal.

As of May 22, eight of the Wildcats’ 11 new players are transfers, joining 2024 prospects Travis Perry and fellow Kentuckian Trent Noah along with Collin Chandler, who formerly signed at BYU, where Pope coached the last five seasons. And Pope might not be done, as UK still is actively recruiting players with two scholarships available for the 2024-25 roster.

Here’s a breakdown of the Wildcats’ transfer portal transactions so far — who they’ve added, who they’ve lost and how they stack up with the rest of the SEC heading into Pope’s debut campaign in Lexington:

Who are the players Kentucky basketball has signed out of the transfer portal?

In this file photo, Dayton guard Koby Brea (4) shoots against Virginia Commonwealth forward Christian Fermin (21) during the second half of a game at University of Dayton Arena on March 8. Brea will play for new coach Mark Pope and Kentucky during the 2024-25 season.

UK has eight transfers set to be part of the 2024-25 roster: Ansley Almonor (Fairleigh Dickinson), Koby Brea (Dayton), Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma) and Amari Williams (Drexel).

Positionally, Brea, Butler, Kriisa and Oweh are guards, Almonor, Carr and Williams are forwards and Garrison is a center.

How highly regarded are Kentucky basketball’s incoming transfers?

Baylor guard RayJ Dennis (10) tries to get around Oklahoma State center Brandon Garrison (23) during overtime at Gallagher-Iba Arena on Jan. 6. Garrison is the highest-ranked transfer to commit to play for Kentucky next season, according to 247Sports.

Seven of the eight are ranked as four-star transfer prospects, per…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/does-kentucky-basketball-coach-mark-092920565.html

Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2024-05-23 09:29:20

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.