Kentucky Misses Freeman, Scrambles for Power Forward

0:00On April 21st, Kentucky went all in on Syracuse Transfer, Donnie Freeman, the 19th ranked player in the portal and 5th best power forward. They jumped on a Zoom call fast, set up a visit, and looked like the frontrunners over Alabama and Yukon. But St. John's in Tennessee crashed the party late, and Rick Patino sealed the deal with an offer Freeman couldn't pass up. Earlier this week, Wildcats fans were buzzing about a Sunday commitment, but it never came. Kentucky skipped Colorado's Sebastian Rancic and lost other targets like the Paul's Magungwath and Miami of Ohio's Dishon Good. Now Mark Pope's roster has holes after Modi Ube went to LSU, and Andrea Gelavik to Ohio State. That miss has folks in Lexington stressing, especially with the power forward spot, wide open. The team needs a starter who can bang inside and stress the floor, and passing on sure things to chase Freeman left them scrambling in a thin portal. Meanwhile, top options like Iowa State's Milan Mom Solovik and Santa Clara's Alan Graves are portal gems ranked first and third at the position.

1:05But they are draft bound, so landing them means dropping 5 to 6 million dollars. More realistic is Jane's Madison's Justin McBride, a 6 foot 7 vet averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds, who's visiting this week after a Zoom. Pope's hunt rose on with wild cards like Topper Crute Tyron Stokes or Finnish Prospect, Mika, Marinin, and Play, though nothing's locked. The Wildcats will pivot smart and fill that gap before spring practice heats up.