Former Lexington Catholic standout Reece Potter with his parents and coach Mark Pope.
Once Reece Potter decided he was going to play his basketball at Miami (Ohio), he never contemplated that he might eventually want to transfer.
“Definitely my goal was not to be transferring when I went there. I loved the coaching staff and it was my decision to go play and win conference championships. I was 100 percent focused on helping turn that program around,” the 7-foot-1 center said.
The former Lexington Catholic standout did decide to transfer after two seasons at Miami and last week signed with hometown Kentucky, the school he grew up supporting.
“I wanted bigger and better opportunities. The MAC (Mid-American Conference) is a great league but nothing compared to the SEC that has so many guys going to the NBA. I wanted to test myself and play at that level. The closest thing to the NBA is the SEC and now I am part of that,” Potter said.
Potter averaged 6.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 15.7 minutes per game in his two years at Miami. He shot almost 40 percent from 3-point range. Last season he played in 30 games when Miami went 25-9 overall and 14-4 in conference play.
Once Potter entered the transfer portal, Kentucky quickly reached out. Potter was in Lexington when UK assistant coach Cody Fueger contacted him but Potter didn’t really believe it was him.
“I thought one of my teammates, or somebody I knew, was just joking with me. I didn’t believe it and then we started talking and we did a couple of calls,” Potter said.
It was not a hard recruiting sale for Mark Pope and his staff.
“The name on the front (of the jersey) recruits itself. I think anybody that turns down this opportunity is kind of crazy,” Potter said.
Potter had been to the Craft Center before but went with his parents just to see how “insanely nice” it was again. He talked with Pope about what the coach thought of him and what the next steps would be. But being a Lexington kid, I just don’t know how you could choose anywhere else but Big Blue.”
Potter said it was obvious players on last year’s team “loved” each other and he could tell the team culture was “great” just like it was at Miami for his two years.
“They offered me probably a month ago but I wanted to take my time. Some other schools called and I had some big opportunities but I turned them down,” Potter said. “My mind never really changed. This is where I always wanted to go.”
Pope said he liked having a “lengthy big” with mobility and skill.
“Reece can really pass, shoot and protect the rim and fits into what we do exceptionally well. Most importantly, he truly understands what it means to wear the Kentucky jersey,” Pope said.
Potter added weight and strength at Miami but he knows he will need to be even bigger and stronger to compete in the SEC. He’s confident the “best training staff in the nation” will help him do that.
He was bigger than opponents in high school and even though he could hit a 3-pointer, he understood coach Brandon Salsman wanting him to play inside where he could easily score over opponents.
“In college players are bigger and taller and I had to expand my game,” Potter said. “Everybody wants to score the ball. I did not want to be the tall dude waiting for somebody to pass when I was younger. I always wanted to be a guard. They get to do all the fancy dribbling and stuff. I wanted to be more than just a tall player. I always worked on my shooting.”
Potter has seen speculation that he could be redshirted since UK has three potential centers — Brandon Garrison, Jayden Quaintance and Malachi Moreno — on the roster along with him.
“I’m going to come in every day and work hard, and try to get everybody better. So that’s what I’m looking for next year,” he said. “I’m not coming to not play. That’s the main goal to get everybody better, and to hang the ninth (national championship) banner. That’s what the fans want, and it’s what I want. I’m looking forward to it.”
3 Responses
That is a good attitude to have, but I think this kid can play. Jelavic will be the starting power forward. Some say Dioubate will take that spot or at least be the backup. Dioubate should be the starting small forward with Williams as his backup. Potter should be penciled in to be the backup 4 guy. He needs to get stronger to start, but that won’t happen until the following year. His height and his ability to shoot the 3 will be appreciated when Jelavic gets tired or gets in foul trouble.
Our best starting lineup would have Lowe at the point with Aberdeen as his backup, Oweh at the 3 with Johnson backing up, Dioubate at the 3 with Williams backing up, Jelavic at the 4 with Potter backing up, and Garrison at the 5 with Quaintance and Moreno backing up.
Chandler will be the insurance guy if we have an injury at the point or shooting guard spot and Noah will fill the same role if we have an injury at the small forward spot. Both of these kids will get to play major minutes in 2026 if they don’t get recruited over again.
If everybody had this kids attitude the world would be a better place. I’m looking forward to seeing him get better every game. If we weren’t 13 deep I would love for him to play this year and barring another injury he might play this year. Just some advice to Reece cherish your time here. If they ask him to redshirt really it plays in his favor. JQ will be gone after this year. It could also be Garrison last year here. Then with the transfer portal you never know he could be the starting center his second year here. If he does redshirt he will play alot of basketball his redshirt junior and senior year. Why waste time and burn a year to ride the pine. He can use this year to get stronger and better. Practicing against Garrison Moreno and JQ will make this kid hit a level he never knew he had. He will be so much better his second year here why not take a year off hit the weight room work on his craft and get better. He has great numbers 6 ppg 3 rpg only playing 15mpg. If he played close to 30 mpg he would have had 12 ppg 6 rpg. Which is pretty good. His per 40 mpg would be 15 ppg and 8 rpg. So you can see his game is pretty good. He did this as a freshman and sophomore. So he would have been the starting center this year and would have probably been a 12ppg 7rpg type of year this year and it only gets better every year. He will improve so much more at Kentucky then at Miami of Ohio so hes a smart kid.
Least we forget – just had a Kentucky Mr. Basketball say all the same things.