11 years now since Kentucky made a Final Four appearance. They came close this past season with a roster Mark Pope had to build from scratch. New season, another try, the head coach is looking to recreate his magic for the team he won the national championship as a player; or at least break the drought. To come as far as he did in his first season, Pope had some help. And going by the reports, it is more than double that now. So, can we get our hopes up? Well, the fans wouldn’t bet on it.
When Pope arrived in Lexington last year, he received a massive welcome. No, we aren’t talking about the Rupp Arena mania where the arena filled to the brink. We are talking about the $4 million pledge the new head coach had received in NIL for recruitment. After John Calipari had left with his squad, that was essential. And Pope put it to good use, bringing in 9 new faces in about a month’s time. They made it to Sweet 16, and the coach was erased of his ‘not-so-fine-recruiter’ reputation. But was he really? There are two sides to this.
First, in a show of positive progress, Kentucky NIL payroll has improved by a good margin, insider Jeff Goodman reveals.
“The most important thing we do is probably raising NIL money,” said Pope in his final season with BYU. “That’s just the job that’s been created for us in the last couple of years. I think that’s probably the most important thing we do. It probably should take up the most time and it probably does.”
By the looks of it, the coach has been awarded plenty for this season. In Goodman’s words: “I’m not sure anyone is gonna touch Kentucky’s NIL payroll this season … not even BYU.” Not sure about the entirety of the claim, but Kentucky did see an impressive tally. In a report by CBS Sports, the Big Blue Nation program was named one of the “golden” tier programs after hitting the $10 million club.
Duke, Arkansas, BYU and several others were listed as well. But does everyone know BYU’s NIL valuation?
I’m not sure anyone is gonna touch Kentucky’s NIL payroll this season … not even BYU.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 21, 2025
It hasn’t been listed in the top-tier club, but the program has rarely shied away from big sums. A J. Dybantsa, for example. The 5-star recruit denied being signed on a $7 million NIL deal, but reports suggest, the teams in his recruiting battle had an offer upto $5 million each. So, there’s a possibility he signed for something nearer that number. Plus, there was another prospect reportedly signed for $3.5 million. Now, details similar to this haven’t been revealed for the Kentucky program. But there sure seems to be a good collective at hand and Pope is making some moves.
For the 2025-26 season, the Wildcats coach had to see 6 of his key players lose eligibility– Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr, Amari Williams, Kobe Brea, and Ansley Almonor. This means, Pope has all those spots to fill, and he has already landed 5 of them. Florida’s Denzel Aberdeen was the most recent one, joining, Mouhamed Dioubate, from Alabama, Tulane’s Kam Williams, Jaland Lowe from Pittsburgh, and Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State.
The coach has also landed 2 5-star recruits in five-star guard Jasper Johnson and five-star McDonald’s All-American center Malachi Moreno. The staff is also reportedly aiming for Auburn’s Chad Baker Mazara. A solid looking roster? Well, here comes the second side. Fans do not seem to think so. As much as Pope was applauded for making Lexington a top-transfer portal destination, not everyone is on board.
Mark Pope under fans’ evaluation
Anyone’s eyes will pop up with a $ 10+ million NIL budget. Programs have suffered due to the lack of it. Bruce Pearl, for one, had to reportedly let Baker Mazara go due to insufficient NIL offering. But when Kentucky has that concern cancelled out, fans believe Pope & staff aren’t making a good use of it. “We call this a bad ROI,” one commented.
The highest scorer on the Wildcats roster, Otega Oweh, averaged 16.2 points and 4.7 last season. No one else could surpass the 13-point mark. Moreover, the team suffered defensively throughout the season, despite the HC often noting how they needed to focus more on the aspect. After finishing the season in a 78-65 loss to Tennessee, fans aren’t being kind. “I mean even their roster is not all that great,” opined another.
“If they’re spending significantly more than any other program and that’s their roster…. That’s pretty embarrassing for Mark Pope,” another vented. Pope’s recruiting class is currently ranked 5th in the nation. But he did lose Acaden Lewis, his top-30 recruit. Then, San Diego State big man Magoon Gwath, who seemed like a done deal, withdrew, and it was soon followed by Lamar Wilkerson choosing Indiana over Kentucky. The irony here is pretty striking– “I didn’t want to go to Kentucky and just be another guy,” Wilkerson had said, speaking of the Wildcats’ stacked up roster. But looks like fans aren’t on the same page.
“I’ve never seen so many 7-10ppg players getting rich in my life,” another asserted. Though Pope will be watching 6 of his players move on, he has successfully retained the rest from his previous roster– Brandon Garrison, Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry. While that screams stability, none had managed to average 10 points. That hasn’t gotten much better with the new transfers. Only Lowe’s averaging 16 points while the rest float between 7-10.
“Overpaying average players does not equal good process lol,” another voiced. Pope fared rather well in 2024-25 for a coach ranking 80th in recruitment and never having an NCAA tournament on his resume. True, the stats don’t all stand out, but the coach seems to be piecing the puzzle. As far as the NIL value goes, it will be the key ingredient in his ‘recipe for success’.
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