Mark Pope believes sophomore Kam Williams could develop into a special player at Kentucky. (UK Athletic Photo)
When Kentucky got its first transfer portal commitment from Tulane’s Kam Williams it almost went unnoticed.
Kentucky was still playing in the NCAA Tournament when Williams committed and he was not a big name. However, he’s made a big name for himself since arriving at Kentucky and now is prominently mentioned in 2026 NBA mock drafts as a possible first-round pick.
What was there about the 6-foot-8 wing that impressed Pope immediately?
“Well, he shoots it and he’s got tremendous positional length. That’s the thing that has been the most exciting,” Pope said. “What a special person he is. It was really great to watch him and his family at camp during the summer. You talk about good, big-hearted people. That’s them. That family is the best.”
Williams started 28 of 33 games he played at Tulane last season and had 14 games in double-figures. He shot 41 percent from 3-point range but got a low volume of shots, something Pope hopes to change.
“He’s a special kid. He really cares about the right things and I’m so elated to have him here,” the Kentucky coach said. “I think clearly he’s got an insane upside. It’s going to be a transition for him, like it is for everybody going from Tulane to Kentucky.
“The level of competition is exactly what he needs right now to grow his game exponentially. We’re excited for him to do that.”
2 Responses
That will be the toughest decision Pope has to make…start Dioubate or Williams. As good as Oweh was last year, Noah will be pushing him for minutes. Imagine Lowe's ability to penetrate and having Williams and Noah to kick out to for wide open 3s. Game over!
Williams is a unbelievable talent. I still think he's a two and done here. He played 32 minutes per game last year against weaker competition and averaged 9 ppg. Yes he was just a freshman so take that into consideration too. I think he averages close to the same about 9ppg but I see him only playing about 20 minutes per game this year. We have to much depth and to much experience to play anyone for more than 27-28 mpg. I also think Pope will try to run the legs off of the defense. We will wear other teams out. Pope will keep sending fresh legs in and with about 8 minutes to play in the second half we will completely annihilate the other team.