Forget JMI because rotation issues are killing Kentucky basketball recruiting

John Calipari was an elite recruiting force at Kentucky, that has continued since he left for Fayetteville. Mark Pope has never been considered an elite recruiting coach, but he never had the tools at his disposal that he does now. Pope put together a staff that was supposed to be able to close; Jason Hart is known as an elite recruiter, and Alvin Brooks III was as well. They have good connections throughout the country, and yet Kentucky's recruiting has nosedived in year 2 under Mark Pope. Why?

That is a question that doesn't have an easy answer.

Kentucky basketball's recruiting is worrisome

First off, the biggest change is, of course, the Transfer Portal. That alone changes the way high school recruiting is done, but Kentucky is still pouring a lot of effort and resources into getting top-tier high school players. So, it is not as simple as the portal being the only solution, as we see in some programs.

Kentucky spent a lot of time building relationships with Tyran Stokes, Christian Collins, Caleb Holt, and Bruce Branch III. As of right now, it does not look like they will land any of them. That is worrisome, and frankly shocking. The last time Kentucky didn't have a top 25 recruit was when Cal left, and Pope had a couple of months to put together a class of Travis Perry and Noah. So, that one didn't really count.

Prior to that hastily thrown together class of 2024, the last time Kentucky missed on a top 25 recruit was all the way back in 2008, when DeAndre Liggins was the highest-ranked recruit at number 33.

Now it is more likely than not to happen now in 2026.

NIL/JMI lead the way if you ask BBN

The biggest question mark is how the JMI deal is impacting recruiting. Some in BBN are sure that they are the reason recruiting has taken a big hit. They point to Tyran Stokes and Christian Collins, who were both seen as Kentucky leans, only to now be seen as Kansas and USC leans, respectively. But that really doesn't translate.

Stokes is a Nike athlete; signing with Kansas will limit his NIL considerably, as the Jayhawks are an adidas school. It is unlikely that, with a cap, Kansas can offer more money than Kentucky could.

The current group of players is all over the place with advertisements, both those involved with JMI and those who opted out, like Trent Noah.

Mark Pope's lack of big-time pedigree is also an option

We touched earlier on Mark Pope's lack of recruiting acumen; it is entirely possible that Pope just doesn't know how to close. Sometimes he can be a bit emotional, and maybe that turns recruits off to playing for him. But I don't think this is likely either, just ask Fran Fraschilla:

The fan above thinks the issue is JMI, but I don't agree, I think it's something even harder to fix.

Rotation issues seem to be most likely

Mark Pope loves analytics; he wants guys who are fresh on the court. Because he tracks everything so much, some guys don't get a lot of run. That is what happened with the Derron Rippey Jr. recruitment. Derron's dad talked about how his son wanted to go to a place where he could really make an impact. He then went to Duke, where he will get a lot more minutes.

Just look at the time leaders for this 2025-2026 roster for Mark Pope:

Otega Oweh- 30.8
Denzel Aberdeen- 28.4
Collin Chandler- 24.8
Malachi Moreno- 22.2
Mo Dioubate- 21.2
Kam Williams- 20

Compare that with Duke who has eight players averaging at least 19 minutes a game. Plus, you have to factor in that this is a Kentucky team now missing 3 starters and 2 that have missed most of the year. If not for that, the minutes would be much more balanced.

Big-time guys want big-time minutes, and they don't see the path to that at Kentucky, and that is why these guys are committing elsewhere.

Whatever the reason is, the fact of the matter is Kentucky is very unlikely to get a top 25 recruit for the first time in a full cycle in nearly 2 decades. That is not something you can clear away with just saying the portal will fix things.

Mark Pope's response so far is just to say that he is excited and in a great position with guys they want, fans aren't seeing it, and quite frankly, neither am I.