After the game on Wednesday, Mark Pope stopped near the end of his press conference and gave an impassioned speech on stopping the chaos currently consuming college basketball.
It all stems from the Charles Bediako situation down in Alabama. Bediako has been out of college for three years, but a judge recently granted him a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) allowing him to play immediately for the Crimson Tide, despite the fact that he has signed NBA contracts in the past.
Pope is not a fan of the move, if you are to believe what he says.
"At some point, I don't have hard feelings towards anybody making any decision because every single college program and college coach are the most competitive people in the world," Pope said. "They're going to try and find any avenue they can to find an advantage."
He went on to suggest possibly withholding tournament bids from teams that went to the G-League to poach players. It was a call for order. But now, news is hitting the rounds that may make Pope look like a bit of a hypocrite, or maybe just a coach trying to survive.
Kentucky basketball could be exploring the G-League market
Kentucky has been ravaged by injuries. The roster is destroyed.
Jaland Lowe is out for the year. Jayden Quaintance is out indefinitely. And on Wednesday night, the hits kept coming as Kam Williams broke his foot during the second half against Texas. The depth chart is thin, and the season is barely halfway through.
So, fans and insiders have floated the idea of adding someone mid-season, specifically from the NBA's developmental system, since other schools like Alabama are setting the precedent.
Enter Dink Pate.
Pate, a 6'8" guard currently in the G-League, has been linked to Kentucky in recent rumors. The connection is strong: he has a great relationship with UK assistant coach Jason Hart, who coached him during their time with the now-defunct G-League Ignite.
What was the G-League Ignite?
For those who don't follow the pro developmental side closely, the G-League Ignite was a team created by the NBA specifically for elite high school prospects. The idea was to give them a place to play professionally and get paid ($500,000+) without having to go to college or overseas before they were draft-eligible. They played in the G-League against other teams that continue on in the league today.
It was an alternative path to the NBA, essentially a "minor league" all-star team. However, with the rise of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals in college sports, players can now make that same money while playing for Duke, Kentucky, or Kansas. The NBA shut the program down recently because it became redundant.
The team no longer exists, and the landscape has shifted; players like Pate are in a unique limbo. With Pate looking to get to the NBA, he may use his college eligibility to jump-start his draft stock while making more money in NIL than he makes on a standard G-League contract.
Is it hypocrisy or survival?
If Kentucky does dip into the G-League to sign Pate, the optics will be fascinating. Is Pope being hypocritical after his speech about "sanity" and tournament bans? Or is he just using the rules that are currently in place to save a season derailed by injury?
If Alabama can bring back a pro, why can't Kentucky sign one?
We will leave that up to you to decide.