Sunday Headlines: Lamar Wilkerson Watch and Brandon Garrison Returns Edition

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Round-Troy at Kentucky — Jovanny Hernandez-Imagn Images

The talented Sam Houston State transfer is set to visit Kentucky today, and the Cats pick up a win by retaining one of their own.

The wheels of transfer portal season continue to turn, and today, the BBN’s eyes are on Sam Houston State guard Lamar Wilkerson.

Wilkerson was among the top scorers in college basketball this past season at Sam Houston State, where he averaged 20.5 points per game. He also was one of the top 3-point shooters in college basketball, shooting 44.5 percent from deep (seventh-highest nationally) on 7.7 attempts per game.

While the Kentucky Wildcats have done a great job improving athleticism and defense with this portal group, they still need another knockdown shooter, and Wilkerson would easily fill that need.

Indiana has been viewed as one of the top contenders for Wilkerson, but Kentucky picked up a win yesterday when Wilkerson visited Indiana and didn’t commit while on his visit. Obviously nothing is set in stone and Wilkerson could still end up in Bloomington, but him leaving Indiana and taking the visit to Kentucky is a sign of optimism for the Wildcats.

Meanwhile, in the transfer portal, sometimes some of your biggest wins come from being able to retain players already on your roster. That’s what Kentucky did when Brandon Garrison announced yesterday that he plans to return to Lexington for his junior season.

Garrison had some ups and downs in his first year in Lexington, but roster continuity is important in this era, and getting Garrison back for another season could pay big dividends for Kentucky.

The 6’10 big man averaged six points and four rebounds per game for the Wildcats last season but showed the potential of what he could become as his game continues to develop. There were rumors that Garrison could enter the portal, but it sounds like the Kentucky coaches really wanted Garrison back in Lexington and were able to convince him to return for his junior season.

With Garrison back in the fold, it seems like Kentucky would like to add Wilkerson as the final piece on this roster. We’ll see if they can lock him down today.