Will Kentucky basketball's Mark Pope keep adding to UK roster, staff?
· Yahoo Sports
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — When Mark Pope accepted the Kentucky men's basketball head coaching job two years ago, he stood in front of a sold-out crowd at Rupp Arena and made clear the expectations laid before him:
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"We are here to win banners."
Two full seasons removed from the 1996 national champion's homecoming, UK fans feel antsy.
Antsy about the Cats' second-round NCAA Tournament exit in March. Antsy about Pope's ability to recruit after many top high school and portal prospects his staff pursued (including No. 1 high school recruit Tyran Stokes) opted to go elsewhere. And antsy about whether he's fit to lead this beloved program.
What is the disconnect between UK's brand and Pope's pitch? Despite reports of a $20 million-plus roster budget, has Lexington lost its luster?
"No, not at all," Pope told The Courier Journal at SEC spring meetings. "There's a real disconnect (in that) every recruiting relationship is different. It's an independent life of its own. It's just a matter of finding the right guys at the right time."
Year 2 bestowed Pope and his program with a lot of hard-learned lessons. About adaptability as they navigated injuries and transfer portal departures. About the need for more experts in roster construction on staff. About getting creative in the way he connected with an uneasy fanbase.
Malachi Moreno announced May 24 he was withdrawing from the NBA Draft and returning to Kentucky for next season. His ability to lead, block shots and pass will be crucial for the Wildcats. Pope called him "a focal point" of UK's roster "since the beginning."
That makes five returners, with Moreno joining Braydon Hawthorne, Trent Noah, Reece Potter and Kam Williams. UK also has five commitments from the transfer portal — Washington guard Zoom Diallo, Washington center Franck Kepnang, JMU forward Justin McBride, Washington State guard Jerone Morton and Furman guard Alex Wilkins — and two more from the high school ranks in Mason Williams and Braydon Hawthorne's brother Zyon.
While Pope is confident in the functionality of his team as it currently stands, he said the staff could add another player to the mix and will "stay active" in that pursuit.
After the departures of associate head coach Alvin Brooks III and assistant coach Jason Hart, UK has made two hires this offseason — Keegan Brown and Mo Williams — with plans to add "a couple more" positions before 2026-27, Pope said. Brown's title is "director of roster management," while Williams' is "assistant coach."
Brown, Pope said, is leading UK's contract team. His job is "wide-ranging," involving daily analytical deep dives and developing algorithms to assess wants and needs. The official release from March announcing Brown's hiring stated he will "work closely with Pope and the staff to support the program’s roster-building efforts. Specifically, he will be involved with roster construction and player acquisition strategy, including transfer portal evaluation and acquisition strategy, roster planning, scholarship allocation and resource optimization."
Williams (whose son Mason is one of UK's two 2026 high school commitments) came to Lexington by way of Jackson State, where he was head coach for four seasons. A member of the 2016 NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers team, Pope said most of the prospects they're out recruiting still play as Williams on NBA2K.
The other "couple" of positions Pope said they look to add before the season starts are still to be determined in accordance with whatever changes are to come in college basketball's eligibility requirements.
"Where college basketball and college basketball recruiting availability is right now could see major shifts as decisions are made over the next two months or so, in terms of how we're going to interpret international players, how we're going to interpret professional players," Pope said. "So that's going to be a big guide in how we fill out our staff."
Another major shift is in store for UK, as athletics director Mitch Barnhart will retire after 24 years at the end of June. Barnhart brought Pope back to Lexington to lead his alma mater, and Pope will have to navigate next season without that familiarity. Barnhart, "a guiding force in college athletics," Pope said, will be "impossible to replace."
As far as messaging goes, Pope did a video series on social media earlier this month asking Big Blue Nation for questions and answering a select few. Some addressed legitimate concerns, like why UK opted out of hiring an official general manager (because "instead of hiring a singular GM, we've gone with a more comprehensive general management team approach," including Brown, director of men's basketball operations and "salary cap" specialist Nick Robinson, men's basketball administrator and compliance officer Kevin Sergent and "JMI liaison" Kim Shelton). Others, like one fan seeking advice on becoming a first-time girl dad, not so much.
"We were sitting around the office, like, 'Man, let's see if we can grow our social media presence.' And so we thought it'd be a fun idea, I don't know. I think we like trying new things."
Could the fan Q&A become a regular series?
"Maybe. I think I'm more interested in doing new stuff than I am just doing the same thing over. But I do think there's some functionality to it. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see if it has a lifespan.
"... BBN is BBN. You put out a ridiculous, silly (10) second video, and got somewhere between two, two-and-a-half million views in a few hours. It's just, this fanbase is special like that. So any unique way we can find to connect with them is good."
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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope on recruiting, roster management