Richard Pitino has come up aces this spring on the recruiting trail. Rivals recently ranked his spring recruiting haul as the third best in the country.
Both of his recent additions have come out of the transfer portal. Sophomore center, Liam Robbins, from Drake was the first to come aboard. He was followed over the weekend by Brandon Johnson, a graduate transfer from Western Michigan.
Pitino is looking to add yet a third player who was at a different school last season. Justin Kier, a 6-foot-4 graduate transfer from George Mason released his top ten schools on Monday. Minnesota made the cut along with Arkansas, Auburn, Butler, George Mason, Georgetown, Georgia, North Carolina State, Ole Miss, and Wake Forest.
Kier signed with George Mason after graduating from Spotswood High School in Grottoes, Virginia. He started in 29 of his team's 33 games right off the bat in his freshman season. He averaged 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds, and led the team in three-point shooting at 38.6%.
In his sophomore campaign he raised his numbers to 11.0 points and 4.6 rebounds. He also went from 1.1 assists to 2.3. He also led the Patriots in steals with 77. On the down side, although his field goal percentage rose to 45.1% his three-point percentage bottomed out to just 17.4%.
His junior year was his high water mark. Kier averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 steals. Kier shot 47.1% and his deep ball numbers rose to 37.1%. He made All-Atlantic 10 Second Team, and was also named the league's Most Improved Player.
Kier's senior season ended in disappointment, but it opened the door of opportunity to get a fifth year of eligibility, perhaps at a different school. Kier reinjured a stress fracture in his right foot that only allowed him to play nine games. He had an original injury before the season began and forced him to miss the first six games.
January 11 would be his last game. He suffered another stress fracture even though he scored 18 points in the game. Kier's numbers were down due to his health, but his three-point percentage rose all the way to 45.8%.
Kier still has scored 1,120 points despite having his senior year cut short. That is a 10.4 point per game average overall. He also has 548 career rebounds for a 5.1 average. Kier has over 200 assists as well. Take his sophomore season out of the equation, and Kier has made 61 of 157 three-pointers for a 38.9% average.
In the 2017-18 season, Kier had 18 points against Louisville. He followed that up with 17 points against Penn State. He has had nine games in which he has eclipsed the twenty point mark. His career high was a 32-point outing against Vermont as a junior. He made 12 of 15 shot attempts.
ESPN's Jeff Borzello ranked Kier as the seventeenth best graduate transfer overall, and the third best transfer (transfer or grad transfer) still available.
Both of his recent additions have come out of the transfer portal. Sophomore center, Liam Robbins, from Drake was the first to come aboard. He was followed over the weekend by Brandon Johnson, a graduate transfer from Western Michigan.
Pitino is looking to add yet a third player who was at a different school last season. Justin Kier, a 6-foot-4 graduate transfer from George Mason released his top ten schools on Monday. Minnesota made the cut along with Arkansas, Auburn, Butler, George Mason, Georgetown, Georgia, North Carolina State, Ole Miss, and Wake Forest.
Kier signed with George Mason after graduating from Spotswood High School in Grottoes, Virginia. He started in 29 of his team's 33 games right off the bat in his freshman season. He averaged 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds, and led the team in three-point shooting at 38.6%.
In his sophomore campaign he raised his numbers to 11.0 points and 4.6 rebounds. He also went from 1.1 assists to 2.3. He also led the Patriots in steals with 77. On the down side, although his field goal percentage rose to 45.1% his three-point percentage bottomed out to just 17.4%.
His junior year was his high water mark. Kier averaged 14.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 steals. Kier shot 47.1% and his deep ball numbers rose to 37.1%. He made All-Atlantic 10 Second Team, and was also named the league's Most Improved Player.
Kier's senior season ended in disappointment, but it opened the door of opportunity to get a fifth year of eligibility, perhaps at a different school. Kier reinjured a stress fracture in his right foot that only allowed him to play nine games. He had an original injury before the season began and forced him to miss the first six games.
January 11 would be his last game. He suffered another stress fracture even though he scored 18 points in the game. Kier's numbers were down due to his health, but his three-point percentage rose all the way to 45.8%.
Kier still has scored 1,120 points despite having his senior year cut short. That is a 10.4 point per game average overall. He also has 548 career rebounds for a 5.1 average. Kier has over 200 assists as well. Take his sophomore season out of the equation, and Kier has made 61 of 157 three-pointers for a 38.9% average.
In the 2017-18 season, Kier had 18 points against Louisville. He followed that up with 17 points against Penn State. He has had nine games in which he has eclipsed the twenty point mark. His career high was a 32-point outing against Vermont as a junior. He made 12 of 15 shot attempts.
ESPN's Jeff Borzello ranked Kier as the seventeenth best graduate transfer overall, and the third best transfer (transfer or grad transfer) still available.
