Mark Pope congratulates Koby Brea, Amari Williams -- his first NBA Draft picks as a head coach
Mark Pope came to Kentucky without having ever coached an NBA Draft pick. Going into year two, he’ll have a couple of second-round selections under his belt.
During day two of the 2025 NBA Draft on Thursday night at the Barclays Center, Koby Brea was the first former Wildcat to pop, going to the Phoenix Suns with the 41st overall pick. Soon after, Amari Williams had his name called by the Boston Celtics with pick No. 46. Williams will begin his NBA career on a two-way contract.
Pope congratulated both on their incredible achievements.
“I could not be more excited for Koby Brea and this opportunity,” Pope said in UK’s press release. “Two years ago, Koby had a really tough surgery and spent an entire summer in a wheelchair. To see him come back from that, become a Kentucky legend and now make his way to the NBA has been incredible to witness.”
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“Amari Williams did it all for us this season as a point-center,” Pope said. “He has taken an untraditional path to the NBA, coming from Nottingham, England, to setting records at Drexel before setting records as a Kentucky Wildcat. I could not be prouder of Amari and am looking forward to seeing what he does next.”
Brea and Williams came to Kentucky after spending the first four years of their college careers at mid-major programs (Dayton and Drexel, respectively), but Pope brought them on through the transfer portal and turned them into pros after just one season in Lexington. Neither Brea nor Williams was considered a top 40 transfer last offseason — they ended up being two of Kentucky’s most important pieces in 2024-25.
Not a bad recruiting pitch for Pope moving forward…
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