Coach Mark Pope has even more to smile about now that Furman guard Alex Wilkins has committed to UK. (Vicky Graff Photo)
When 6-foot-5 Furman freshman guard Alex Wilkins hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 points in an 82-71 NCAA Tournament loss to Connecticut, it got the attention of a lot of people. He also had four assists, one rebound and one steal in that game.
Once he put his name into the transfer portal, it got the attention of a lot of college basketball coaches, including Kentucky’s Mark Pope and Saturday Wilkins announced his commitment to UK.
Travis Branham, national recruiting analyst for 247 Sports, called Wilkins “one of the best mid-major prospects” in the transfer portal.
He averaged 18.8 points, 4.7 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 29.7 minutes per game last season. He hit 65 3-pointers in 35 games and also had a team-high 165 assists. He shot 46 percent from the field, 33 percent from 3 and 82 percent at the foul line. He had 14 games with 20 or more points and two 30-point games. He scored in double figures in 29 of 35 games.
“He has great size and is a really talented player,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said after the NCAA win. “I think coach (Bob Rickey) utilizes him really well offensively. They do a lot of things on offense. In a lot of ways, it’s like looking in the mirror offensively. He has that great size. You don’t see as many freshmen as productive as he is or that can score on all three levels like he can or is dangerous as a passer.”
While a lot of schools reached out to Wilkins, he picked UK over Alabama, Kansas, Syracuse, UConn and others before visiting UK and then committing.
Coming out of high school, he had offers from Miami (OH), Davidson, Hofstra, Northern Kentucky, Florida Gulf Coast and Charleston. Now he’s a consensus top 10 shooting guard in the transfer portal and top 30 player overall
Wilkins was a finalist for the Lou Henson Mid-Major Player of the Year Award and an All-Southern Conference second team pick. He was also the Southern Conference Tournament MVP to help get Furman into the NCAA Tournament.
“Kentucky has just landed one of my favorite players in the portal — Alex Wilkins of Furman. Think he fits perfectly alongside (Washington transfer) Zoom Diallo and gives UK a versatile, multi-year piece.VERY nice get for Mark Pope,” FOXSports radio host Aaron Torres posted on X.
