Kentucky
Kentucky basketball under Mark Pope: Transfer portal news, 2024 roster, targets, recruits from top SEC experts
The mass exodus of much of the Kentucky basketball roster to the transfer portal defined the school’s offseason following the departure of John Calipari and the hire of Mark Pope. However, Pope is slowly rebuilding the talent pool for the Wildcats and landed a pair of Power-6 transfers in back-to-back days. Last weekend, wing Otega Oweh joined the 2023-24 Kentucky basketball roster from Oklahoma, and then forward Andrew Carr followed suit from Wake Forest. Both players were double-digit scorers for their respective teams last season, and each knocked down at least 37% of 3-point attempts.
Pope still has some work to do regarding Kentucky basketball recruits since the cupboard is bare. Four-star Travis Perry remains the only Class of 2024 prospect who has signed a letter of intent with UK, but he’s a big get as the No. 1 prospect in the state of Kentucky per 247Sports. If you love the Wildcats, or just want the latest roster updates and college basketball transfer portal news, be sure to see what the proven team of insiders are saying at CatsPause, the 247Sports affiliate that covers Kentucky.
The team of insiders at CatsPause.com are providing up-to-the-minute scoop on the latest intel surrounding the Kentucky basketball coaching transition and roster changes. CatsPause has built a solid reputation over its 20+ years covering the Wildcats, and has deep-rooted sources inside and around the Kentucky athletic department. And right now, CatsPause is offering 50% off the first year of an annual subscriptions*, so now is the time to sign up.
The team at CatsPause has full coverage of who is coming and who is going on the Kentucky basketball roster. Head to CatsPause now to see all the insider info.
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. Join CatsPause to see the latest on all of Kentucky’s roster changes.
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. Join CatsPause to get the latest on all of Kentucky’s roster additions.
How to get insider Kentucky basketball roster updates
Pope could also be bringing at least one big-time BYU player with him, so be sure to join CatsPause to see who that is and get the rest of the insider roster news.
Who are the top names Kentucky basketball is pursuing under coach Mark Pope, and what former BYU player could land in Lexington? Go to CatsPause to see their insider information, all from a team of reporters with years of experience covering the Wildcats, and find out. And reminder, CatsPause is offering 50% off the first year of an annual VIP membership*, so subscribe now before it’s too late.
*Terms: This offer is only available for new members who sign up for a CatsPause annual subscription. After the first year, subscription will re-bill on an annual basis at the regular rate. 247Sports.com reserves the right to alter or cancel this promotion at any time. Please write support@247sports.com with any questions you may have.
Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats will be looking to replace a lot in the transfer portal, and one thing that Pope will need a ton of is three-point shooting. The three-point shooting this season for Kentucky outside of Collin Chandler was rough. Otega Oweh, Kam Williams, and Denzel Aberdeen all had a solid shooting season, but Chandler was the only true, reliable three-point shooter.
Williams is a player that fans expect to get much better from three next season if he is back in Lexington, but Pope is still going to need a lot of shooting.
When Pope took the job at Kentucky, he wanted to shoot over 30, perhaps even 35 threes per game, but in his two seasons, this has not happened. Coach Pope needs to get back to this for his offense to work at a high level, but he will need the roster to get it done.
While the portal is not technically open yet, some players have announced that they plan to enter the portal when it does open on April 7th. Some Kentucky fans have already started to list players whom Pope should reach out to in the portal. Many of the guard’s BBN wants look good on paper, but don’t have elite three-point shooting percentages.
The point of this article is to make the case that Coach Pope can’t gamble with the players he brings in via the portal to be shooters. A great example of this is Jaland Lowe, as he came over from Pitt with a bad three-point shooting percentage. He didn’t play enough this year to really judge him as a shooter, but Pope doesn’t need projects like this.
He shouldn’t take guards who shot 31% from three. Pope needs to take players who are true knockdown shooters from deep, so the Wildcats offense next season will have a handful of players who are all capable of making threes.
There are some guards and forwards in the portal right now who had great seasons shooting the ball from deep and more will enter when it officially opens on the 7th. Coach Pope needs a bunch of players who shot 35% or better from deep, so the Wildcats are an elite team from beyond the arc.
If Kentucky isn’t a good shooting team, we will see a season similar to this one next year, so shooting is a top priority for the staff when the portal opens here in about a week.
Even in the era of the transfer portal and NIL, fans of a team will still focus on and care about recruiting. That’s especially the case with the Kentucky Wildcats. Fans are already up in arms about Kentucky’s recruiting for the class of 2026, or, in their case, lack thereof.
Only one player is signed for the class of 2026, after 4-star point guard Mason Williams announced his commitment to play for the Cats on Friday. On the board. Still work to do.
Chris Washington Jr., an Alabama decommit and top-35 senior prospect, is a new target for Mark Pope and UK ahead of the spring signing period in mid-April. The staff reached out to his AAU coach, Bobby Maze, to gauge the athletic wing’s potential interest. This is all according to Kentucky Sports Radio.
Washington is a 6-9, 195-pound forward who originally committed to Alabama, but decommitted in November. Kentucky is now included among the likes of Tennessee, Oregon, Oklahoma State, USC, and SMU that are interested in Washington.
“It’s a good program,” Washington said of Kentucky while adding, “Honestly, I just want to go where I’m wanted — and the play style. I got to go where I fit in and where the coaches really want me. (My recruitment is) open. Whenever the time is right.”
Only four players ranked ahead of him remain available in 2026, including No. 1 Tyran Stokes. That tells you just how big of a prospect Washington will be in the spring signing period.
Kentucky has swung and missed in recruiting a lot recently. But there is still time to get things moving in the right direction this spring on both the high school front and in the transfer portal.
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WKRC) — A Kentucky man was arrested Thursday after police said he was riding a horse while intoxicated, reports WBKO.
Bowling Green police said they found 48-year-old Jorge Luis Hernandez on a horse, partially slumped over, as it walked along a road. He and the horse then began traveling on a sidewalk, according to an arrest record.
Police said Hernandez had a “strong odor of alcoholic beverage” and had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and delayed movements. Hernandez said he had just left the liquor store and had a liquor store bag tied to the horse’s saddle.
Hernandez was arrested and charged with operating a non-motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants.
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