Kentucky named finalist for Drexel transfer Amari Williams

The news will not slow down. It’s officially head on a swivel season as college basketball teams across the national landscape are hitting the transfer portal hard and fast to fill out their rosters. New Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is working quickly to fill all of the open roster spots in Lexington.

Kentucky might be closing in on its first transfer recruiting win of the Pope era. Drexel big Amari Williams cut his list of schools to three after meeting with Pope on Thursday.

Kentucky, Mississippi State, and St. John’s are the final contenders for the three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year. After wrapping up the meeting with Pope, Amari Williams will get on a plane shortly and see what Lexington has to offer during an official visit over the weekend.

In his final season with the Dragons, Williams averaged 12.2 points on 51.7 percent shooting in 22.9 minutes per game. The England native’s top value is with rebounding and defense. According to KenPom, Williams is in the top 100 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (65th), defensive rebound percentage (28th), block percentage (39th), and fouls drawn rate (23rd). The five-man is a true defensive center that can anchor a defense and clear the glass. However, the scoring numbers were also very efficient without any three-point shooting. Williams was a productive paint scorer and is a no doubt high-level power conference starter.

Can Kentucky wrap up this recruitment this weekend? All signs point to Mark Pope having UK in a great position.