While the Kentucky basketball program was one of the most effective in the transfer portal this spring, there were still some questions about the roster as four players had their names in the NBA Draft pool.
As the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline inched closer to the May 29 date, slowly each player pulled their name out and announced they would be playing for the Wildcats.
It began with Drexel transfer big man Amari Williams — the first commit for Mark Pope — then it was San Diego State guard Lamont Butler, Wake Forest big Andrew Carr and then finally, Dayton wing Koby Brea. Now, Kentucky has its full roster, at the moment, in tact heading into the summer.
While all four players were expected to return to college, in this day and age you never know.
Williams is a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center who averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game this season. He finished with 10 double-digit rebounding games and eight double-doubles.
“He is a three-time conference defensive player of the year, which is incredibly hard to do,” Pope said of Williams. “He is bringing a big presence to the game and is going to serve as a rim-protector and rebounder. Amari is a gifted defensive player who can switch onto any position, one through five, which will add security to how everybody else feels on the court.”
Throughout the entire transfer process, Williams was the biggest question mark. Because he was the first commit for Pope, he had no idea what the remainder of the roster would look like. Slowly, after Kentucky began filling open spots, there was some concern from his camp about what his role would look like. After adding Brandon Garrison and Andrew Carr, Williams was close to re-opening his recruitment before a late-night visit from Pope kept him in town.
