Mark Pope is close to appointing his first coaching staff and even sealing his first transfer agreement.
On Thursday, it was announced that former G-League Ignite coach Jason Hart will be joining the Kentucky basketball staff.
According to Adam Zagoria, Hart will likely arrive in the Bluegrass next week.
In addition, Drexel transfer Amari Williams has come for his visit to Kentucky. During the trip, Jeff Goodman mentioned that Williams had down his list to Kentucky and Mississippi State.
This was billed as a fight between Kentucky and St. John’s, so the absence of Rick Pitino’s team is good news for the Wildcats.
The 6-foot-10, 265-pound Williams is one of the top frontcourt transfers available right now, and he would be a huge addition to Kentucky’s roster, which presently lacks an upperclassman commitment for next season.
This season, Williams averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game, including eight double-doubles. His greatest season was in 2022-23, when he averaged 13.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game.
Pope paid Williams a visit on Thursday before his trip to Lexington, demonstrating how much Kentucky wants this child. It’s time to see if they can close the deal this weekend.
When it was announced that Hart would be joining Kentucky’s staff, national media praised him heavily, owing partly to his time as an assistant coach at USC from 2013 to 21. He has strong ties to the West Coast, therefore we should see an increase in recruiting for that region, which the previous staff had little luck with.
