Former top recruit Garrison commits to Kentucky

Brandon Garrison, a former five-star recruit, has committed to Kentucky, he announced on Instagram on Tuesday.

Garrison, who played at Oklahoma State last season, is new head coach Mark Pope’s seventh commitment this offseason — a group that includes former Oklahoma standout Otega Oweh, former San Diego State star Lamont Butler and former Wake Forest standout Andrew Carr.

Garrison (7.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.5 BPG), who was a McDonald’s All-American in high school, is part of Pope’s first recruiting class weeks after the former Kentucky standout replaced longtime coach John Calipari, who left for Arkansas.

Pope, who had previous stints at Utah Valley and BYU, has accepted the expectations of a rabid fan base that eventually soured on Calipari, who made four Final Four appearances but failed to make the second weekend of the NCAA tournament in his final five seasons.

“I understand the assignment,” Pope said when the team introduced him earlier this month. “We are here to win banners. As we go through this journey, we’re here to win banners in Nashville [at the SEC tournament] because you guys turn out in Nashville like nobody else and that matters. And our job here and our assignment is here to win banners in the Final Four, national championships. That’s our job.”