Kentucky expected to host major transfer prospect for visit this weekend
By Alec Lasley
This week was already gearing up to be a massive recruiting week for Kentucky, but additional news on Tuesday night heigthened the weekend even more.
According to Jeff Goodman of Field of 68, St. Mary's transfer Aidan Mahaney is expected to take a visit to Kentucky this weekend.
Mahaney is a 6-foot-3 guard who is one of the hottest names on the transfer market.
According to Goodman, he is also expected to visit UConn. Those two visits follow trips to Virginia and Creighton.
Saint Mary’s transfer Aidan Mahaney visited Creighton and is scheduled to visit both Kentucky and UConn this weekend, source told @TheFieldOf68.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 24, 2024
Those are a trio of high-level offensive coaches.
Mahaney is also currently at Virginia.
Kentucky is in the midst of a total roster overhaul and that includes reportedly having a visitor on campus every day this week.
Mahaney, however, may be the top name on the list. He is a two-time All-WCC selection after averaging 13.9 points in each of his first two seasons. This year, he shot 35.5 percent from three and has a career average of 37.5 percent on 2.3 mad 3s a game.
Mahaney is terrific on and off the ball. He had 56 percent effective field goal rate last season on catch and shoot opportuntites and ranked in the 82nd percentile in spot up shots, scoring 1.13 points per possession.
He was asked to do a lot more than he needed with the ball in his hands, with less talent around him than what could be expected at Kentucky -- if he chooses to end up in Lexington.
With Mark Pope's system revolving around dynamic guards who are interchangeable on the perimeter, it gives way to Mahaney's versatility.
UConn and Creighton will certainly be tough to beat, with clear system's already set in place -- just missing a few pieces. Kentucky has just three players on its roster at the moment and likely won't have many more by the time Mahaney visits, so being able to visualize who he'll be playing with will be much more difficult than at the other schools mentioned.
But, you have to hand it to Pope and his staff. They are swinging for some of the biggest names and most dynamic players on the market. WIth how much roster space is up for grabs, it's not a matter of if they land, it's just a matter of how many.
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