Kentucky hosting two basketball visitors on Monday

With two roster spots left to fill, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope is looking to lock those down sooner rather than later. The Wildcats are hosting a pair of important visitors on Monday in hopes of making that happen.

North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier arrived in Lexington for his visit late Sunday night and will be in town throughout Monday. One of the top available targets in the portal, Lanier is coming off a visit to BYU over the weekend and will make a quick stop at Tennessee on Tuesday. A decision could come soon after that.

In what was a breakout campaign as a senior in 2023-24, the 6-foot-4 Lanier averaged 19.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game on shooting splits of 51/44/88. He’s considered the 8th best player to enter his name into the portal this offseason, per the On3 Industry Ranking, and will have one year of eligibility remaining at his next stop.

Joining Lanier on campus will be class of 2024 three-star Jamie Vinson, who visited Rutgers over the weekend. Vinson, a 6-foot-11 power forward, will visit Kentucky on Monday and Tuesday. A former Vanderbilt decommit, the Oak Hill Academy product is ranked as the No. 206 overall high school senior in the country by the On3 Industry Ranking.

Vinson was previously signed to Vanderbilt when the program was run by Jerry Stackhouse, who was fired on March 14 following a 70-92 record across five seasons. Vinson was released from his National Letter of Intent on April 17. Prior to committing to the Commodores, the likes of California, George Mason, Ole Miss, and Rice had all offered.

Of the two, Lanier is especially significant. Kentucky is looking to round out the roster with one of Lanier or BYU’s Jaxson Robinson, who is still testing the NBA Draft waters, as a go-to scorer for the Wildcats next season. The dominoes could start to fall very soon…