Lamar Wilkerson's Camp Reached out to Kentucky to Gauge Interest With Wesley Yates Trending Towards Washington

Lamar-Wilkerson-Camp-Reached-Out-To-Kentucky — Dec 3, 2024; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Sam Houston State Bearkats guard Lamar Wilkerson (3) shoots the ball in the second half against the Indiana Hoosiers at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Sam Houston guard transfer Lamar Wilkerson has made his way towards the top of Kentucky’s transfer board. However, that hasn’t always been the case.

KSR’s Jack Pilgrim joined the Here Comes the Boom podcast on Thursday to share the latest on Wilkerson’s recruitment. With a visit set for Sunday, Kentucky appears to be in a good spot with the 6-foot-4 shooting guard.

“There’s some cautious optimism about where things stand there,” Pilgrim said. “Obviously, the visits are getting scheduled. I expect him to visit here in the coming days.”

A Back and Forth Recruitment

When Lamar Wilkerson entered the portal, the expectation was that Arkansas was the early favorite. Then, Indiana started to make waves. Lately, Kentucky has taken up the mantle.

The momnetum for Kentucky with Wilkerson has come as the Cats have lost ground with USC guard transfer Wesley Yates. As Washington becomes the main threat for Yates, Kentucky has shifted its focus to Wilkerson.

“Then, you start to hear some of that scuttlebutt about Kentucky really picking things up as the Wesley recruitment seems to be going down another path,” Pilgrim said. “We always knew Washington was a very real threat the entire time, knowing the prior family relationships and the Quincy Pondexter relationship. That’s one that I would be monitoring very closely there.”

It’s not just Kentucky’s interest in Wilkerson that has created a tide of momentum. It was actually Wilkerson’s side that made the contact.

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“I think it got to the point with Lamar that, when Yates went the other direction, I heard that Lamar’s side was peeking in and checking in with Kentucky, and saying, ‘Hey, do you guys have that two spot filled?’ Is Yates taking it? What is your plan there?’ They’ve always had a high level of interset in Kentucky and had been keeping an eye out there,” Pilgrim said.

Wilkerson earned All-Conference USA honors last season after averaging 20.5 points per game on 47.7 percent from the field and 44.5 percent from three-point range. With Wilkerson’s camp expressing interest, it’s no surprise that Kentucky has jumped at the oppportuntiy.

“When it appeared that Yates was trending in the other direction, [Wilkerson’s camp] jumped right in and said, ‘Hey, we’d love to talk to you about potentially picking up that role and filling that for you guys as a ridiculous shooter.’ [He was] a 44 percent three-point shoter on high volume, 20 points per game at Sam Houston State,” Pilgrim said. “That’s a guy you can plug into that Koby Brea role and expect him to really, really produce at a high level.”

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