Kam Williams was the first member of Kentucky’s transfer portal class, committing on March 28, the day of the Sweet 16 loss to Tennessee. Even though Mark Pope’s first season as coach wasn’t technically over yet, Williams wanted to jump at the chance to sign on for the second.
“I noticed that they had a lot of seniors and a lot of players that were leaving, and I knew that I could fit the play style that Coach Pope has, so I didn’t want to waste any time and let other people kind of jump in my spot, pretty much,” Williams told reporters on Tuesday. “I really thought I could capitalize on that specifically.”
Williams was one of the top shooters in the transfer portal. During his freshman season at Tulane, the 6’8″, 190 lbs. wing averaged 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game, shooting 48.5% from the floor and 41.2% from three-point range. That latter number came on 1.9 makes per 4.6 attempts per game. He’ll have more opportunities in Pope’s system, one reason he was eager to get on board early, even without visiting campus. With six seniors/graduate students departing, including shooters like Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, and Jaxson Robinson, Williams knew there were holes to fill and wanted to make sure he was the first to fill them.
“I would say [the recruitment] was a little different, because normally, you would come visit here, and you talk and then make a decision. But I noticed that they needed shooters. They had shooters on the team who were leaving. So I felt like I could have just filled one of those roles kind of fast, and then they can go recruit whatever they need.”
Pope and his staff did just that, putting together one of the best transfer portal classes in the country alongside four core veterans and a talented group of incoming freshmen. Williams said seeing Pope build the team around him only made him more confident he’d made the right decision.
“I would just say that I was happy that I did it early,” Williams said. “I kept seeing more people kind of starting rolling in here, it was just something that I’d seen, that we could have built a great team here with the returning guys that are here. So, Coach Pope really built a great team to help us get to that number nine.”
One fish that Williams helped Pope reel in: Jaland Lowe. Williams, from Lafayette, Louisiana, and Lowe, from Missouri City, Texas, both played for the Houston Hoops AAU organization, so Williams was familiar with the Pitt guard’s game.
“After I saw that they were kind of interested in him, I hit him up and I was like, ‘Might as well come over here.’ We needed a [point guard] because Lamont [Butler] was leaving, and he’s a great PG, so it felt like that was probably the person I reached out to first.”
Now, the two will share a backcourt at Kentucky, a dream they didn’t even know they had a year ago. Williams said it’s just another reason to trust the process.
“I would say never let anyone tell you no,” he said of his advice to younger players. “Never let anyone kind of kill your dream. Just because they can’t reach it don’t mean you can’t. So work as hard as you can. Hard work beats talent and God works.”
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