Mark Pope’s latest transfer portal target is the perfect centerpiece for Kentucky

Kentucky has a deep veteran-laden roster for Mark Pope’s first season at the helm, but the team is still missing a go-to scorer. Chaz Lanier could fill that role for the Wildcats next season.

Mark Pope has never won an NCAA Tournament game. Last year at BYU, Pope was bounced by in the first round by Duquesne with a team that lacked athleticism, struggled on defense, and relied heavily on three-point shooting.

It turns out that Pope’s favored style of play wasn’t precisely represented on his BYU roster. He has placed a strong emphasis on defense because he had access to a different class of elite recruits and high-caliber transfers at Kentucky. He has paired rangy shot-blockers like Brandon Garrison of Oklahoma State and Amari Williams of Drexel with elite perimeter defenders like LaMont Butler of San Diego State, the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.

The head coach of the team that Kenpom ranked as the 14th most effective offense in the nation last season is still without a reliable scorer since defense was given such high priority this offseason.

Andrew Carr, a 6-foot-10 stretch big who transferred from Wake Forest to Kentucky, averaged 13.5 points and hit 37.1% from three. A year earlier, Otega Oweh, a 6-foot-5 slashing guard, averaged 11.4 points per game for Oklahoma. Dayton’s Koby Brea is perhaps the nation’s best outside shooter, and Kerr Kriisa makes a great facilitator.

Although Mark Pope put together excellent offensive components that work well together, Kentucky lacks the primary shot creator needed to contend for a national championship. None one the team’s players possesses the gravitas required for everything to work as a cohesive unit and is dependable enough to win games late in isolation.

Pope’s latest transfer portal target is the solution to that potentially catastrophic deficiency.

Chaz Lanier averaged 19.7 points per game while shooting 44% from three and 51% from the field in his fourth season at North Florida. With one more season of eligibility left, the 6-foot-4 guard is presently the front-runner to sign with Kentucky.

After averaging less than five points per game and making just eight starts for the Ospreys in the 2022–2023 season, he was undoubtedly one of the most improved players in the entire nation. As the top player on the squad, his shot volume went up, but so did his efficiency.

Lanier can create a lot of space for the offense with his outside shooting ability and playmaking ability when he has the ball in his hands, but more importantly, he is the isolation scorer this team sorely needs.

Last season, he averaged 1.27 points per isolation possession which was 93rd percentile in the country. He was also in the top 10% of scorers in terms of points per possession on spot-ups, dribble hand-offs, and pick-and-rolls as the primary ball-handler. While not a hyper-elite athlete, his long strides and body control allow him to get past defenders and draw the eyes of all five defenders. For all the talent he’s amassed, Pope doesn’t have a player who stresses a defense in that way.

Lanier isn’t a player who dominates the ball despite his flashy stats. He can also make catch-and-shoot threes and is a deadly scorer off movement, so his presence wouldn’t interfere with Pope’s motion offense.

While his brilliance is one thing, Kentucky’s first-year head coach has additional exciting options because of his size. In lines with any two of Butler, Kriisa, Brea, and Oweh, Lanier is large enough to play on the wing. In larger lineups, he can also play as the shooting guard alongside to either of Butler or Kriisa. In addition to providing the offense with a much-needed focal point, this addition would allow Pope to use his lineups with even more versatility.

The truth is that things are getting busy in Lexington, which nearly caused Amari Williams to break his vow to the Cats. However, Kentucky’s coaching staff finds Lanier to be an ideal fit and cannot resist him. In his absence, Kentucky is still a strong contender for the SEC championship and a surefire pick to make it through the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament. However, Big Blue Nation can begin to dream of a Final Four appearance if Pope can secure the guard on the First Team All-ASUN, as it is a realistic expectation for this veteran-laden team.oster.