Mark Pope is back on the road in pursuit of one of the top names in the 2027 class, and Kentucky is trying to keep itself squarely in the mix for five-star small forward DeMarcus Henry.
According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog, Pope is scheduled to visit Henry at Compass Prep in Arizona this week. It will be the second straight week the Kentucky coach has seen him in person after making the trip to Arizona last Wednesday, the first day of the open period.
Kentucky is not alone in showing up. Zagoria also reported that Louisville, Kansas and Ohio State coaches plan to visit Henry this week as well.
Henry, a 6-foot-7 forward from Charlotte, NC, is ranked No. 3 overall in the Rivals Industry Ranking for 2027. He has trimmed his list to eight schools: Kentucky, Louisville, BYU, Arkansas, North Carolina, Kansas, Ohio State and UConn.
The five-star prospect has already been busy on the visit trail. He recently took official visits to Louisville and UConn, and he is set to visit Arkansas this weekend. BYU and Ohio State visits are also expected soon, though Kentucky has not publicly announced a visit of its own.
Kentucky’s push for Henry has been building since the school offered him a scholarship in May. Pope and assistant coach Mo Williams have both been heavily involved, and the two spent much of the summer watching him on the Nike EYBL circuit, including at Peach Jam.
There, Henry turned in a strong showing for Vegas Elite, averaging 18.2 points, eight rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
Henry has spoken positively about Kentucky’s staff and the attention he’s received from them.
“Mark Pope, Coach Mo (Williams), they are all just great people,” Henry told KSR in July. “I love what they’re doing with the program.
They’re always reaching out, the whole coaching staff. Just reaching out to me, it means a lot hearing from all those guys.
It’s such a great program. … They’ve just been saying they believe that they could do the best job with me, and they feel like I’m a priority to them.”
Henry also had a summer connection with another highly rated recruit, as he was a Vegas Elite teammate of five-star guard Adan Diggs. Diggs is scheduled to visit Arizona later this month and has official visits lined up with Kentucky and Arkansas in October. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard is considered an Arizona lean, but Kentucky getting him to Lexington would still be meaningful.
The same goes for Henry. Rivals’ Joe Tipton said on Sources Say, “I do think that they’re trailing for both of those guys,” Rivals’ Joe Tipton said on Sources Say about Kentucky’s recruiting effort with Henry and Diggs.
“I think there’s a chance they could still get both of them on campus, and then maybe they’re able to make an impression. But obviously, as we all know, if you’re not able to get those guys on campus then you really don’t have a shot at getting them.”
Kentucky already has one 2027 commitment in four-star guard Ryan Hampton, who is ranked No. 22 nationally. Pope is clearly still chasing more top-end talent to build out the class.
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For basketball, the next wave is coming into focus even if the finish line is still unclear. UK is weighing future jersey patch options without putting a date on when one might be finalized, while also getting closer to a major new multi-use training facility near Kroger Field, next to the Nutter Training Facility, with the project now in its final planning stages after a $1.25 million study was approved to help shape it. [Read more 🡒]