Any thoughts of the Kentucky high school basketball class being finalized have been thrown out the window as Mark Pope and his staff are targeting a former SEC commit.
Jamie Vinson was committed to Vanderbilt but reopened his recruitment after head coach Jerry Stackhouse was let go after the season. Now, he's visiting Kentucky with hopes of potentially added to the strong debut roster for Pope.
Vinson is reportedly on campus at Kentucky today, a day after the Wilcats hosted their top transfer target Chaz Lanier.
The three-star prospect Vinson is a 6-foot-11 and 215-pound center from Oak Hill (Va.) who holds offers from South Carolina, Cal, Rutgers and others in his recruitment. He has taken visits to South Carolina and Rutgers up to this point.
"A high-upside frontcourt prospect who can immediately contribute as a shot alterer," 247Sports national recruiting analyst Brandon Jenkins wrote when Vinson committed to Vandy. "Offensively, he shows floor spacing potential and can score with a soft touch around the basket."
While Vinson would likely be filling the 13th and final scholarship -- and be behind a front court that is filled out -- played against extremely veteran players like Andrew Carr and Amari Williams in addiition to a former McDonald's All-American in Brandon Garrison every day in practice would very much prove beneficial for Vinson's development.
Vinson is also the type of player that would fit with how Mark Pope is looking to fill out the final pieces of his roster.
"The 13th scholarship is a floating piece," Pope said last week. "The way we envision it is It could be for a place for a young player. It could be a place for a senior player who is going to take a redshirt year. It could be a place for a project. It could be a place for a high-risk guy. That's how we see it."
Vinson would join a high shcool class of four-star guards Travis Perry, Trent Noah and Collin Chandler.