It's Lamar Wilkerson Day in Lexington -- the Sam Houston State transfer will visit Kentucky

Concerned about the Indiana Hoosiers convincing Sam Houston State transfer Lamar Wilkerson to keep those candy-striped warm-ups on, committing before leaving Bloomington? We knew Darian DeVries would do whatever it took, recruiting the 20-point-per-game scorer from Ashdown, AR to anchor the IU backcourt.

Hoosier fans were certainly hoping Wilkerson would pop, avoiding a potential scenario where Kentucky could swoop in on visit No. 2 and potentially steal him away.

Unfortunately for them, that opportunity is now on the table for Mark Pope and the Wildcats.

Sources tell KSR that Wilkerson, a 6-5 rising senior and top-15 scorer in college basketball, will, in fact, be making his visit to Kentucky on Sunday. He left Bloomington without making a commitment, and now, the ball is in UK’s court to potentially finish the job and put a bow on the 2025-26 roster — one on the cusp of serious Final Four contention, should the veteran guard decide to join the party.

Wilkerson’s visit comes on the heels of Kentucky earning a commitment from Croatian big man Andrija Jelavic to go with the return of Brandon Garrison, forming one of the deepest and most talented frontcourts in college basketball that also includes Alabama transfer Mo Dioubate, Arizona State transfer Jayden Quaintance and blue-chip freshman Malachi Moreno.

From there, Pittsburgh transfer Jaland Lowe and Tulane transfer Kam Williams are signed on for next year, as is five-star freshman Jasper Johnson, while Otega Oweh, Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry all have remaining eligibility and could return next season — optimism is high they do.

Now, all eyes are on Wilkerson to wrap up preseason top-five status for Pope and the Wildcats.

Can they get it done? They’ll certainly have a beautiful day to work with in Lexington. Maybe you’ll see them around Keeneland watching the ponies? If you see him around, don’t be afraid to start a Go Big Blue chant or two.

This is a big one, folks.

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