Good news: Kentucky sign in a five-star player from North carolina

Seeing Brown perform in person pleased Mark Pope, the head coach of Kentucky.

The Mark Pope era is well underway, and the high school recruiting list is still expanding.

Following Pope’s in-person observation of him during the Adidas 3SSB tour in Bryan, Texas, 5-star guard Mikel Brown Jr. became one of the most recent names on the Kentucky Wildcats’ radar.

The Overtime Elite player dazzled many Kentucky coaches with his play in Texas.

After watching Brown play, Pope called him, according to  of Kentucky Sports Radio.

The 6-foot-2 guard has already drawn interest from many SEC schools, including Alabama, Tennessee, and Auburn. Brown has visited Ole Miss as well. According to 247 Sports Composite, he is now ranked 15th overall in 2025.

Kentucky is a little behind in high school recruiting due to the recent coaching change in Lexington, but Pope is doing a terrific job of reaching out to a wide range of talented players who are still undecided.

Regarding Mark Pope, Brown mentioned watching Pope’s BYU team in response to a question.

“They shot and had the best 3-point percentage in the nation.” They played incredibly well as a team and as excellent basketball players going into March Madness.

Brown is a future star, thus Kentucky’s class of 2025 would be greatly enhanced if Pope can sign him.

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Top Transfer Portal Target Is Missed by Kentucky Basketball

Something finally went terribly wrong for new Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope following a college hoops honeymoon in which everything went very well. Chaz Lanier, a scorer for North Florida, rejected Pope and the UK and declared he was signing with Tennessee, meaning the Wildcats lost out on a valuable player through the transfer portal.

It is a devastating blow for Kentucky, and in a way, the choice made by Lanier illustrates how much had changed for UK even prior to the departure of coach John Calipari to Arkansas in April. Lanier probably would have chosen Tennessee over any other Kentucky basketball coach, but he chose the reigning SEC champions because of coach Rick Barnes.

Lanier had visited not just Tennessee but also Kentucky and BYU.

Dalton Knecht, a former guard for North Colorado, had made his way thanks to Tennessee and Barnes. He is expected to be selected in the top five of the NBA draft next month. Lanier was persuaded by the Vols to follow Knecht’s lead, something Pope was unable to do.

According to ESPN, Lanier claimed that UT was the greatest due to its play style and fit. “I’ll have the opportunity to demonstrate my shooting prowess at the highest level of collegiate basketball and hone my defensive skills under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Rick Barnes, who has a proven track record of producing players who make it to the NBA.”

“We discussed the road Dalton traveled, which is really comparable, but Tennessee never compared me to him in terms of our play style or game. I might be able to accomplish the same thing.

Lanier Chaz 19.7 points on average last season
Lanier, a skilled 6-foot-4 shooting guard, led the North Florida Ospreys in scoring last season with an average of 19.7 points. Lanier had averaged just 4.2 points on 42.3% shooting in his first three seasons, thus this was a breakout season for him. However, as a fourth-year junior, he found his rhythm, making 51.0% of his field goals and 44.0% of his three-pointers.

The most of his career has been spent as a reserve player, however he was an All-A-Sun player on the first team last year. Given that the A-Sun is considered the lowest conference in the country and that Lanier’s performance may have been an exception, there is some doubt regarding how well his results from the previous season will translate into 2024–25.

Lanier is rated by few scouts as even a second-round choice in 2025, so he will need to put up big numbers if he is to break into the NBA.

Kentucky Basketball Is Still able to choose.
Lanier had undoubtedly drawn the ire of the Wildcats, who are looking for a collegiate scorer with experience. His shooting efficiency would have been much appreciated.

However, Kentucky is also waiting on BYU star Jaxson Robinson, who has until Wednesday to determine if he will return to college or retain his name in the NBA draft. He is on the transfer portal; once he makes that choice, he must select the college he will attend in 2024–2025.

Robinson’s coach with the Cougars has been Pope, of course, and if he decides not to enter the draft, Robinson is expected to go to Lexington with Pope. Robinson is not nearly as strong a shooter as Lanier, despite his 14.2 point average for BYU in the previous season. Last year, he shot 35.4% from 3-point range and 42.6% from the field. He has a career field goal percentage of 40.5% and a 3-point percentage of 34.3%.

Veteran sports writer Sean Deveney works for Heavy.com, covering the NBA, NFL, and MLB. With over 20 years of NBA coverage experience, including 17 years as the lead NBA correspondent for Sporting News, he has been writing for Heavy since 2019. A writer of seven nonfiction books, Deveney is the author of “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” Additional details regarding Sean Deveney