College basketball recruitment is now a 24/7, 365-day process thanks to the Transfer Portal. You are informed that there is still one mile to go just when you believe you are getting close to the finish line.
That reality is striking hard in Lexington today following an utterly disappointing 22-14 campaign. Mark Pope is preparing to meet with players to discuss the roster and their prospects.
It’s likely that some of those guys will return.
For others, it’s quite probable that Lexington’s pressure exceeded their expectations. Mark Pope may have to start from over with a brand-new roster once more due to factors like playing time, NIL money, and changing positions.
The preliminary player evaluations are already under progress, and the NCAA Transfer Portal will formally open on April 7th. It will be a demanding two weeks. Because you never know, Kentucky needs to be ready for every scenario that could arise with the roster.
In addition to the six names we covered here, Mark Pope needs to aggressively pursue these five if the Wildcats are pushed into a big rebuild.
The frontcourt game-changers
Henry Veesar
Kentucky must be prepared to take advantage of the enormous opportunities created by the college basketball coaching carousel. Henry Veesar may decide he no longer wants to play in Chapel Hill after Hubert Davis was fired at North Carolina. I wouldn’t hold it against him.
This season, the big man—who originally transferred from Arizona—dominated, averaging 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting an incredible 60.8% from the field and 42.6% from beyond the arc. Mark Pope cannot allow him to attend a different school and observe, like he did with Yaxel Lendeborg, if he becomes available. He is a fantastic fit for what Mark Pope truly excels at.
Paulius Murauskas
Murauskas’ season ended brutally, as he struggled during St. Mary’s NCAA Tournament loss to Texas A&M and battled an illness. He then made the decision to leave after his head coach, Randy Bennett, departed and now formally accepted the position at Arizona State. Kentucky needs to enter the race, even though he might simply follow Bennett to ASU. This season, he averaged 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds, making him an obvious mismatch.
The perimeter marksmen
Rodney Brown Jr.
Particularly when that wing is a deadly sniper, you can never have enough wing depth. With 87 3-pointers made this season, the LMU product led the entire WCC. He shot 38.2% from beyond the arc and scored 14.0 points per game. He gives Mark Pope’s attack the precise floor-spacing ability it needs to be effective. When that floor shrank last year, you all witnessed what transpired. The deficit was 19 points.
Ryder Frost
Kentucky is in dire need of both shot makers and shot creators. No matter how well you pass, you won’t receive an assist if you can’t shoot.Frost struggled to gain regular playing time during his rookie year at Notre Dame, earning just over six minutes per game despite being widely seen as a major shooting threat in high school. It is definitely worthwhile to take a flyer.
Kentucky basketball’s point guard options continue to rise
With Dedan Thomas Jr. in the portal, Joel Foxwell jumped in, and now a new name to watch has emerged:
Christian Bliss
This year, the freshman from Delaware made a huge splash. He will now play somewhere else. Bliss, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall, has a respectable size for a point guard. He can make every read and pass and is a tremendous floor general. He has demonstrated his ability to lead an offense with an average of 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.9 assists per game.
As the deadline of April 7 draws near, the gateway environment will continue to change rapidly. Keep checking back as we monitor every action.
