Mark Pope shares thoughts on recent transfer portal addition

Coach Mark Pope is really excited about a recent roster addition.

The Kentucky Wildcats recently received the first transfer portal commitment of the Mark Pope era as talented big man Amari Williams is making the move from Drexel to Kentucky. 

Last season for the Dragons, Williams averaged 12.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.8 blocks per game. He is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner in his conference as he is an elite rim pretector. Williams is 6'10 but has a 7'5 wingspan, so he won't have any issue swatting away shots in Lexington. 

Coach Pope had this to say about Williams, “At times, Amari Williams looks like a man among boys on the court. He is a three-time conference defensive player of the year, which is incredibly hard to do. 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. Offensively, he is dangerous at the rim, and he’s one of the special passers in college basketball. Amari can make all of the reads, all of the passes, all of the plays and he fits into exactly what we want to do on either end of the court.”

Coach Pope targeted Williams right when he got the job as Kentucky's next head coach, so this is clearly a guy he wanted badly. Williams will be one of the most underrated big men in the SEC this season.