Kentucky misses on two top transfer portal targets

The Wildcats are looking to put together a competitive roster.

BYU's head coach Mark Pope points during the Big 12 basketball game against Texas Tech, Saturday, / Annie Rice/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY

So far in the transfer portal, Mark Pope has identified a ton of players he wants to go get, and some have come to Lexington for visits. 

Two targets that Kentucky was after were Richie Saunders and Koby Brea. Saunders played for Coach Pope at BYU, and Brea was a sharpshooter for the Dayton Flyers last season. 

Saunders recently announced he is going to return to play another season at BYU. It sounds like he is going to get a ton of minutes at BYU that he likely wouldn't have gotten at Kentucky, so this could have played a role in the decision. 

Brea hasn't officially announced his decision for next season yet, but after including Kentucky in his top five lists of schools, he recently said he will only take visits to UConn and Duke, which means it doesn't sound like he will play for the Wildcats next season. 

I am not concerned about missing out on these players because Coach Pope is going to be able to land some players. It sounds like Brea went blueblood hunting, and Saunders just wanted to stay put. 

A ton of talented visitors will be in Lexington this weekend, and the Wildcats are going to land a bunch of players in the portal soon. 

To be fair, we do need to see the commits start to come in, but it feels like we are days, not weeks, away from seeing this roster come together. 

While Saunders and Brea would have been really good additions, I trust Coach Pope is going to put together a solid roster.