New Kentucky coach Mark Pope has landed his first transfer portal addition, and it’s a big one: 6-foot-10, 265-pound Drexel center Amari Williams, the three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year. Williams’ agent, George Langberg of GSL Sports Group, confirmed to The Athletic on Sunday his client chose the Wildcats over St. John’s and Mississippi State.
Advertisement
Williams visited Lexington this weekend and was spotted with Pope at Keeneland’s spring horse racing meet. Trackside on Saturday, Pope told FanDuel TV, “We’re here on business.” Soon after, apparently, he closed the deal with Williams, who averaged 12.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.0 blocks over the last two seasons at Drexel.
He’s played in 105 college games and started 79.
The super senior from Nottingham, England, has a 7-foot-5 wingspan and career totals of 186 blocks, 171 assists and 86 steals. He’s a good-passing, elite rim-protecting big man who represents a great building block for Pope’s first roster at Kentucky. That roster is mighty light at the moment.
Every scholarship player from last season has either run out of eligibility, declared for the NBA Draft or entered the transfer portal since previous coach John Calipari left for Arkansas. Five of the six previously committed recruits in the 2024 class have asked for their release.
So for now, the Wildcats’ roster consists of Williams and two incoming freshmen: in-state star Travis Perry, the one holdover, and former top-40 prospect Collin Chandler, who was committed to Pope at BYU and will arrive in Lexington this summer after serving a two-year Mormon mission.
Williams’ commitment could help Kentucky add another important piece soon. He was high school teammates in England with Utah State transfer Great Osobor, a 6-foot-8 forward who averaged 17.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and was the Mountain West Player of the Year last season. Osobor, a consensus top-five portal prospect, is also strongly considering Kentucky.
Required reading
- Mark Pope connects Kentucky’s past and present: ‘There is no better person for this’
- Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, potential top-10 pick, declares for 2024 NBA Draft
- Mark Pope makes believers out of Kentucky fans in rousing Rupp Arena introduction
(Photo: Mitchell Layton / Getty Images)
