Kentucky Star Hints at Exit as Mark Pope Sets His Sights on 6’5 Auburn Target

He has played alongside the Kentucky squad for only 1 season till now. Before that, he was grinding and learning with the Oklahoma State Cowboys for his freshman season. His exit from Oklahoma came hot on the heels of coach Mike Boynton’s firing after seven years, a move that hit Garrison hard. ‘The Oklahoman’ reported that he was “really, really attached” to Boynton and thrived under his leadership. After enough soul-searching with his family and agents, Garrison set his sights on Kentucky as his next chapter.

Life at UK? Call it a “rollercoaster season” for Garrison. In 35 games, he didn’t start once—a stark drop from the 29 starts in 32 games he racked up with Oklahoma. On top of that, his average score with the UK also went lower than what he recorded with his previous team. While he averaged 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, he averaged only 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists with Kentucky.

Still, the intriguing part was, whenever this forward, Brandon Garrison, has scored 10 or more points, Kentucky has usually won. He was an important piece of the UK’s first-round win over Troy at the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Alongside freshman guard Collin Chandler, he took Kentucky’s six-point lead into a 21-point advantage. His future with the program looked bright, and even Mark Pope had praised that.

“Brandon is, I’m telling you, he’s fun, right?” said Pope back in March “He’s sometimes wrong but never in doubt. And I love that about him. That’s what you want your players to be. He’s doing really special things. His float game has grown to the free throw line, his three-point game is really, really dangerous right now.” Despite that, if rumors are to be believed, Kentucky might not see him blossoming into that dangerous weapon.

If you’ve scrolled through Brandon Garrison’s official Instagram lately, you might’ve done a double-take. According to reports, the player has scrubbed all traces of the University of Kentucky (UK) from his profile. According to ‘Bleed Blue Network’, it is “Something to keep an eye on.” After all, when someone removes team details from their official social media handles, it is rarely a good sign. As of now, according to ‘For The Win’ journalist Bryan Kalbrosky, nearly 2,000 men’s college basketball players have entered the transfer portal. And Garrison might be one of them.

If Garrison really leaves, Kentucky fans will probably remember him for his heroics against the Oklahoma Sooners in February. Garrison used to stay 25 minutes away from the University of Oklahoma and spent his freshman year at Oklahoma State, the Sooners’ rival. It was a homecoming game for him, playing in front of his family and a lot of friends. But he did not let that affect his performance.

Garrison was Kentucky’s second-leading scorer in that game behind Otega Oweh’s 28 points. Not only that, he was solid on the defensive side as well. He guarded in several positions and delivered the highlight moment of the game when he blocked the final shot, sealing the game. And Pope took note of it.

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“I thought he was elite defensively,” Pope had said. “He was getting switched on Fears; he might’ve guarded Fears better than anybody else. He has a really, really high ceiling, so it’s been fun so far this year to watch him grow, and he’s still got so much more growth in him.” 

As impressed as the coach might look with Garrison, the lack of starts might not have sat well with him. Hence, a dip in scoring could be the reason behind this potential transfer itch. And Pope? He’s no stranger to roster shake-ups—he might already be plotting his next move to fill the void left by the 21-year-old.

Is Mark Pope going to acquire Lamar Wilkerson?

According to ABC 36 News reporter Chris Beasmore, Lamar Wilkerson is set to visit Kentucky during the upcoming weekend. But the Wildcats aren’t the only ones in the hunt—Wilkerson’s road trip also includes stops at Indiana, Auburn, and Ole Miss before he locks in his future. Ever the opportunist, Kentucky pounced early, reaching out the second the portal opened. However, things got quiet about the 6’5 guard for a while. Now, with a visit on the table, Mark Pope might be suiting up to turn on the charm.

A 6-foot-5 guard from Arkansas, Wilkerson is coming off an impressive junior season with the Sam Houston Bearkats. Throughout 32 games, he started in all of them, and averaged 20.5 points by averaging 7.2-15.0 (47.7%) field goals, 3.4-7.7 (44.5%) 3-pointers, and 2.8-3.3 (82.2%) free throws. Wilkerson also had 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

Mark Pope has already made some notable changes to the team, having landed four players through the transfer portal. The Wildcats have found a new point guard in Jaland Lowe. On top of that, Kam Williams is the team’s new athletic 6’8 high upside guard, Mouhamed Dioubatea fulfills the role of a hard-working four, and Jayden Quaintance is set to serve as a dominant shot-blocking forward.

Therefore, only one other major piece needs to be covered by the Kentucky coaching staff: a lights-out shooter. Given his on-court skills, Lamar Wilkerson certainly seems to be an attractive candidate.