The news of Amari Williams committing the University of Kentucky basketball team out of the transfer portal dropped Sunday afternoon. He was ranked the No. 63 transfer in the portal after being CAA Defensive Player of the Year two straight years at Drexel. Williams is 6-foot-10, athletic and known for his ability defending the pick-and-roll.

Kentucky also made it official on Monday that guard Collin Chandler would join the Wildcats.

Chandler is a 6-foot-4 guard from Farmington, Utah, and was ranked among the top 35 recruits in the 2022 class.

Following high school, Chandler completed a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and will come to Kentucky with four years of collegiate eligibility.

“Collin Chandler is one of the most talented high school players in the country,” Pope said. “He has a silky-smooth jumper, a slippery ability to get to the rim, an explosive burst and the most impressive of all, he has incredible processing speed as he reads space and time and makes plays on pure instinct.

“Collin is the definition of a servant leader. He, on his own desire and expense, chose to leave basketball and his life to go and serve people in Africa and Europe for two years. It won’t take long for every Kentucky fan to feel his heart and his love for others. I absolutely cannot wait to coach a man and player like him.”

Kentucky also made a final five list for Dayton transfer Kobe Brea, according to national media reporters. Brea is looking at Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, UConn and Kentucky. Brea is considered one of the best 3-point shooters available in the portal.

Kentucky also announced the additions of assistant coaches Jason Hart and Cody Fueger. National media reports broke late last week that Hart would be hired as an assistant for Pope.

Hart is a nine-year NBA veteran with extensive coaching experience at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.

“Jason Hart is everything as a coach that he was as a player,” Pope said. “He has boundless energy. He’s fearless. He is stubborn. But he has endless joy and love for this game and our players.

“He has all of the grit that you’d expect from a big-time Syracuse point guard, and he earned everything he got in his decade-long NBA career through pure blood, sweat and tears. Jason is going to win over Kentucky players and Kentucky fans in about 10 seconds.”

Hart most recently served as the head coach of the NBA’s G-League Ignite squad, coaching the likes of Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, Matas Buzelis and Ron Holland.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join the Big Blue Nation,” Hart said. “I’ve played and coached at every level of basketball and there is not a more passionate fan base than this one.”

Fueger has had a long working relationship with Pope, and he was the first assistant coach announced on Monday.

“Cody Fueger and I have been together for 11 years now,” Pope said. “I’ll never forget taking the job together at Utah Valley and trying to imagine how we were going to build a program that had just recently moved into Division I. If you had told us we were going to get to walk into the Joe Craft Center and coach at Rupp Arena, neither of us would have ever believed it.

“Cody is one of the most innovative offensive minds in all of college basketball. He has a grounded, wild creativity that is pushing the envelope in how this game is growing. He has been the most loyal friend who has delivered in massive ways for our team. Cody builds incredible relationships with our players.”

At least one media report Monday night had Pope trying to keep the door open with McDonald’s All-American 5-star Jayden Quaintance, who was released from his NLI after John Calipari went to Arkansas.

Fueger has been a nine-year member of Pope’s staffs, first serving as an assistant coach at Utah Valley and then transitioning to BYU. The connection began when they were on the BYU staff together when Pope was an assistant coach and Fueger served as the director of basketball operations.

National basketball reporters also news on Alvin Brooks III, associate head coach at Baylor, who was being targeted by Pope as an assistant coach. This would be considered a major recruiter get for Kentucky if it holds true.

After a first week of traveling to see potential portal transfers, picking up potential signees at the airport, and piecing together the beginnings of an assistant coaching staff, Pope officially started getting players and coaches filling spots at Kentucky.

And it was only Monday.