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Mark Pope, the new Kentucky head coach, is having a busy time after many former Kentucky players entered the transfer portal. Pope has added a few good names to the team with only Travis Perry left onfro the roster from their ex-head coach John Calipari's roster. Ahead of the 2024 campaign, Mark Pope's squad is taking a good shape slowly.
In this article, let's have a look at the three biggest commitments Mark Pope has secured after failing to secure the signature of some targets initially.
3 biggest commitments Mark Pope secured after making his way to Kentucky ft. Kerr Kriisa
#3 Brandon Garrison
Hailing from Oklahoma City, Brandon Garrison used to play from Del City in high school. He led them to the state championship victory after averaging 15.7 points, 10 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. As a result, he was named the Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year in his senior season.
The state championship game was played against Carl Albert High School, where he scored 17 points and secured 16 rebounds. He started his collegiate career with Oklahoma State after rejecting various offers, from programs like Kansas, Arkansas, and Houston.
Garrison, a 6-foot-11 center, was also a part of the 2023 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. In the 2023-24 season for Oklahoma State, he averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game, making him a remarkable signing for Mark Pope.
#2 Koby Brea
As a junior, Koby Brea averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game at Monsignor Scanlan High School. He was consistently improving every year as his stat line went to 20.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game as a captain in his senior year.
In 2019, he got a chance to play for the Dominican National Team. He played five games in the U-17 FIBA Centrobasket Championships and gave clinical performances. In the tournament, he averaged 9.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 44% from the field and 41% from the three-point line.
Koby Brea started his collegiate career with Dayton Flyers in 2020. As a freshman, he had to miss a major part of the season due to an injury. However, in the 16 games that he played in, he averaged 2.9 points per game. He pumped up his stats during the 2021-22 season, where he averaged 8.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
In the 2023-24 season, Brea averaged 11.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. He went 51.2% from the field and 49.8% from the 3-point line before committing to Kentucky on Wednesday.
#1 Kerr Kriisa
Kerr Kriisa is so far the best signing made by Mark Pope from West Virginia. Kriisa started his collegiate career with Arizona in 2020 and played there for three seasons, where he was considered the best European recruit.
Ker Kriisa averaged 5.5 points, and 2.4 assists per game in his freshman season, followed by 9.7 points and 4.7 assists per game in the following season. In his third season at Arizona, he averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 assists per game after which he transferred to West Virginia.
In the 2023-24 season, Kriisa averaged 11.0 points, 4.7 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game after returning from a nine-game NCAA suspension. In his final collegiate year, Kriisa announced his commitment to Kentucky on May 1.
