'24 3-star PF Jamie Vinson schedules visit to Kentucky
Mark Pope is clearly swinging for the fences on a star to anchor his debut roster in Lexington, North Florida’s Chaz Lanier and BYU’s Jaxson Robinson seen as options 1A and 1B — and there is technically room for both with two scholarships remaining.
That’d be the dream, obviously, but it’s fair to say that’s a lot of mouths to feed and likely wishful thinking considering what Kentucky already has lined up with the other 11. If both want to come, you certainly don’t turn it down, but coming up with a contingency plan for that 13th spot is probably the smart thing to do while pushing all of your chips in on one of Lanier or Robinson.
Call that final spot a ‘floating piece,’ as Pope described it.
“I have a 13th scholarship to kinda be a floating piece,” Pope told Jon Rothstein. “The way we envision it is, it could be a place for a young player, it could be a place for a more senior player that is gonna take a redshirt year, it could be a place for a project, or it could be a place for maybe a high-risk guy. That’s kinda how we’re seeing it.”
Who could fit that description? How about a high-potential project big in three-star power forward Jamie Vinson? He’ll be taking a visit to Lexington early next week to decide if there’s a fit there.
On3’s Jamie Shaw was the first to break the news that Vinson will be making the trip to Kentucky on Monday and Tuesday after wrapping up an official to Rutgers this weekend.
The 6-11 forward’s trip comes after completing a visit to South Carolina in recent days.
Vinson, the No. 206 prospect and No. 45 power forward in the 2024 On3 Industry Ranking, previously signed with Vanderbilt under Jerry Stackhouse prior to the former head coach’s departure. He requested and was granted his release on April 17.
“I am thankful Coach Jerry Stackhouse and Coach Andy Fox recruited me to Vanderbilt University and Commodore Nation!” he said at the time. “Due to the recent coaching change, I am planning to de-commit from Vanderbilt University and re-open my recruitment.”
A role player at Oak Hill Academy this past season, Stackhouse previously referred to Vinson as a “frontcourt player with great length and size” while praising his “shooting ability” and “physical tools to be impactful on the defensive end with his instincts and time around the basket.”
Prior to his commitment to Vanderbilt, the three-star forward previously held offers from California, George Mason, Ole Miss and Rice.
Is Vinson the project piece Pope is looking for?
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