Wooga Poplar, a recruit from Kentucky and a Miami transfer, has withdrawn from consideration for the 2024 NBA Draft, according to college basketball guru Jon Rothstein.
The BYU transfer Jackson Robinson, whose decision the Wildcats are still awaiting, has until 11:59 PM ET to withdraw in order to return to school.
Poplar is rated by 247Sports as the No. 5 shooting guard and No. 19 overall transfer in the portal.
Poplar was scouted by new UK head coach Mark Pope during the G League Elite Camp in Chicago earlier this month.
Poplar played in all 29 games for Miami this season as a junior, starting all of them. He averaged a career-high 13.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists while shooting 42.6% from the field, 38.5% from three, and 86.4% from the free throw line. In a win over La Salle, he recorded a season-high 25 points. During a defeat to Kentucky at Rupp Arena, he scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Throughout the season, he recorded three double-doubles, including a 13-point and 11-rebound effort in a victory over Georgia.
Poplar played in 36 of the 37 games that he started for the Hurricanes as a sophomore in 2022–2023; on average, he averaged 8.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting 37.5% from outside the arc.
He scored 16 points in an Elite Eight victory over Texas, which enabled Miami to go to its first-ever Final Four. Poplar has played in 100 career games with 65 starts throughout his three college seasons, all with the Hurricanes. He averages 7.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 36.5% from beyond the arc with over 100 career three-pointers.
Oregon, Arkansas, Villanova, and Kentucky are among the states he is recruiting from.
Pope’s first eight-man transfer class, which includes No. 23 Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), No. 34 Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), No. 48 Lamont Butler (San Diego State), No. 71 Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), No. 88 Amari Williams (Drexel), No. 91 Koby Brea (Dayton), No. 126 Kerr Kriisa (West Virginia), and No. 319 Ansley Almonor, was made possible by graduation, the transfer portal, or the NBA Draft.
To bring the Wildcats’ total of scholarship players to eleven, Pope has added former BYU signee Colin Chandler, who recently completed a two-year Mormon mission; Kentucky Mr. Basketball, the state’s all-time leading scorer and four-star guard Travis Perry from state champion Lyon County; and Harlan County four-star and former South Carolina signee Trent Noah.
