As the first transfer commit, Amari Williams trusted Mark Pope's roster-building vision

When Amari Williams transferred to Kentucky out of the portal, he did so by entrusting a lot of faith in the program’s new head coach, Mark Pope. After all, prior to Williams’ commitment to the Wildcats, there were only two players on the 2024-25 roster and neither had yet to play a college game — freshmen Collin Chandler and Travis Perry.

For Williams, someone who was going through the NBA Draft process and has just one year of college eligibility remaining, picking the right school was more important than it is for most transfer portal prospects. Following four years at Drexel (where he won CAA Defensive Player of the Year three seasons in a row), the next landing spot had to be one that could set him up for long-term success.

So why did Williams end up going with Pope — a coach making a giant leap from BYU to Kentucky — and land in Lexington? A few reasons.

For one, Pope was already recruiting Williams when the latter first entered the portal in March (Pope was hired at UK in April). There was a relationship there to begin with that helped build initial trust. Secondly, Williams believed he would thrive in Pope’s offense that utilizes passing big men. And finally, it’s basketball at the University of Kentucky.

“Just the fact that it was Kentucky, you know?” Williams explained when asked why he chose the Wildcats. “(Pope’s) offense at BYU when he was recruiting me there was great so I just felt like I had to trust in him that he was going to build a great roster too when he comes here. And that’s exactly what he did.”

Of course, Pope had a plan laid out for how he would build his debut roster at Kentucky. He told Williams the plan while the latter was on his official visit. Williams bought in then and there (he committed during that visit) and Pope ended up staying true to his vision. It took a while to get all 12 players on the roster, but Pope utlaitmely locked down the majority of guys he told Williams would be his new teammates.

“It’s actually crazy because a lot of the guys he told me (he was recruiting) on that visit, are sitting next to me in the locker room,” Williams said. “It worked out well I guess.”

Williams admitted that there were moments he questioned going to Kentucky. What if the roster plan didn’t work out? But those moments were tucked into the back of his head. He wanted to be a Wildcat and trusted the man in charge.

“I definitely thought about it, but it couldn’t have been too difficult if I committed on my visit,” Williams said with a smile. “It wasn’t that hard of a decision.”

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