Mo Williams deserves a ton of kudos for Kentucky landing five-star Ryan Hampton

Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats were able to land five-star Ryan Hampton on Sunday morning, and this was massive for the outlook of this staff. There are a ton of narratives about Pope not being a good recruiter, but he just landed one of the top players in the 2027 class.

Funny enough, Hampton might not be the biggest recruit landed this offseason by Coach Pope. It sounds like that was assistant coach Mo Williams. The father of Hampton told KSR’s Jacob Polacheck that Williams, “Is the closer. He shut the door.”

Obviously, Pope had a large role in this recruitment, but Williams played a large role in this deal getting done early into the cycle, which should have BBN excited after the Tyran Stokes diabolical. Coach Williams was the head coach at Jackson State before making the move over to Kentucky.

His son, Mason, is a freshman point guard for the Wildcats, and it sounds like he wanted to watch his college career play out. Before getting into coaching, Williams was a longtime NBA veteran who was an All-Star and Champion playing alongside LeBron James. His career in the NBA is something that will make it easy for him to connect with these players.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

All of the recruits that Williams will be talking to will want to follow in his footsteps and become an NBA legend, so he will earn the respect of these elite five-star players with ease. Williams will also be a big help to Coach Pope when it comes to the X’s and O’s on the floor, but his impact will be very visible when it comes to the recruits the Wildcats are landing.

Hopefully, landing Hampton is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the 2027 class and the future for the Wildcats landing five-star players. Coach Pope is going to start having some elite talent on the floor, and if that is the case with some added veteran leadership, the Wildcats are going to be very good for a long time.

There are some other elite players in the 2027 class that the Wildcats are going to make a large push after, and hopefully, Coach Williams will be able to help Pope seal the deal with these players. Coach Williams was a very good addition to the staff by Coach Pope for the future of recruiting.

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