Mark Pope has hit the recruiting trail hard. It’s been over a month since he became the Kentucky men’s basketball coach.

The roster has some finishing touches on the horizon. So far, we’re a couple of players away from really making some noise next season.

Chaz Lanier would be huge for us. At the time of this writing, he is visiting UK’s campus.

The North Florida transfer averaged almost 20 points per game, 4.8 rebounds, and shot 44% from behind the arc.

It seems like Pope has been targeting guys that can shoot the lights out. His offense is quick-paced and produces a lot of threes short into the shot clock.

You should also see some backdoor cuts from the Wildcats. That should be a nice change from the dribble drive and throwing it over someone’s shoulder in the corner on an inbounds play under the basket.

The biggest gets for Pope though would appear to be some homegrown Kentucky boys.

Travis Perry announced he would not be following Cal from a roster that was completely disseminated upon his departure.

Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer will be playing for the name on the front of his jersey.

Harlan County’s Trent Noah de-committed from South Carolina shortly after Pope’s hiring. We all knew what was coming next.

Noah will be suiting up for the blue and white, representing the eastern Kentucky coalfields.

It’s great to see two KY boys who can score playing for the heart of the bluegrass.

Reed Sheppard rejuvenated our spirits this past season. He will go down as an all-time favorite for the Wildcats.

If next year’s draft selection wasn’t absolutely stacked, I believe we would be watching a sophomore Reed.

He did what any one of us would do. We can’t blame him for leaving for millions of dollars guaranteed.

But now it’s on to the next KY studs that bleed blue. If anything, we can delight in the fact that Pope will be looking at in-state talent moving forward.

Brittni McCoy is a sports reporter and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.