After the Florida game, Goose Givens questioned whether this team truly believed they could win. That's bad enough, but now another Kentucky legend, Kenny Walker, believes things have to change. If not, Kentucky risks becoming "UCLA and Indiana" under Mark Pope.
“The talent was there but injuries started to pile up. I think that got into coach Pope’s head," Walker said in an interview with Larry Vaught. "He had to play a lot of guys he was not ready to play... I think they got frustrated and confused and just have not been sure about their roles."
The "confusion" factor: Trent Noah and Andrija Jelavic
Walker’s observation hits on the most frustrating part of the season. Trent Noah went from a starter to a player who never saw the floor, then suddenly he was back. Andrija Jelavic was in the rotation and then didn't play for two weeks, only to suddenly return as a starter. That kind of confusion doesn't help players grow or stay confident in who they are.
Even Malachi Moreno was forced into a spotlight Walker didn't think he was ready for. "I really did not think he would play much, and now he is the best big guy we have," Walker noted. While Moreno has been a bright spot, the drop-off to Brandon Garrison, who should be better in his second year in Lexington, is astonishing.
In SEC games, Moreno is averaging 7.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game. A junior, Brandon Garrison, is averaging 3.8 points, 4 rebounds, and an assist per game. A freshman should not be outplaying a McDonald's All-American junior, but he is.
The recruiting crisis: "We are turning into UCLA"
But the biggest issue, according to Walker, is Pope’s inability to close on big-time recruits. He warns that Kentucky can no longer simply sell "history and tradition."
“If we keep doing that, we are going to turn into UCLA and Indiana... Other top programs are getting people together to be general managers and handle the money and recruiting to land a top player."
The case for a general manager
Everyone believes Kentucky should hire a GM, and they're not wrong. A GM would be better suited to make the high-stakes decisions that define a roster.
Consider the choice between Yaxel Lendeborg and Jayden Quaintance. One was a healthy, proven star; the other was an elite talent sidelined by a devastating knee injury. These are the decisions that matter in a game where 11 minutes define your season. Mark Pope is a coach who has never recruited at this level of college basketball before, and it shows.
Is a shakeup coming?
It's not just a GM, as I've written before, the entire coaching staff needs a shakeup in the worst way. Kentucky just posted a job for an "Associate Director of Player Development" on Sunday. It's a start, but will it be enough to answer Kenny Walker's wakeup call?
Or will Kentucky turn into Indiana?