When momentum shifted away from Kentucky in Matt Haarms’ recruitment and the 7-foot-3 graduate transfer out of Purdue ultimately decided to commit to Mark Pope and the BYU program, serious questions about how John Calipari and the UK coaching staff would close out the 2020-21 roster were raised.
Despite boating the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, along with the addition of two incoming transfers in Creighton guard Davion Mintz and Rhode Island forward Jacob Toppin, potential options are extremely limited in the frontcourt in the graduate transfer market and in the class of 2020. With a swing-and-miss on Haarms, a player the staff contacted immediately after he entered the transfer portal on April 6, there was a sense of panic throughout the fanbase that the staff wouldn’t be able to close out the roster with an immediate-impact big, thus limiting the team’s potential after losing Nick Richards, EJ Montgomery, and Nate Sestina this offseason.