Asked if Kentucky was any closer to deciding whether to redshirt freshman guard Braydon Hawthorne, Mark Pope did not even pretend to dress it up.
That blunt response hides a real tension. On one hand, Pope says Hawthorne is “getting so much better every day” and there is “certainly space where he could help us.” On the other, he knows exactly how costly one decision can be in the current era.
Braydon Hawthorne may or may not play this year
“In college basketball right now, it’s really expensive to burn a year or two,” Pope said.
The nightmare scenario he keeps coming back to is not about Hawthorne failing. It is about fit and usage. What happens if you play him briefly, then never find him a real lane in the rotation?
“There’s that fear of you put him out on the court for three minutes and he never plays again and you’re like, ‘Man, coach, you just burned his year and there wasn’t a ton of payoff,’” Pope said. “I’m very sensitive. I want to make sure that we take care of him. He’s a special talent. He’s got a huge future, so we got to do it right.”
Hawthorne is fully bought in either way. Pope made that clear—“he’s all in, by the way”—but the head coach feels a responsibility that goes beyond this season. With the portal, extra COVID years and constant movement, a single lost season on the front end could dramatically reshape a player’s long-term options.
For now, the staff will “just keep dancing,” as Pope put it. Hawthorne will keep practicing, keep improving and stay ready in case injuries or a sudden role change force the issue.
All of this is why Pope has become an outspoken advocate for simplifying eligibility rules. He pointed to football’s ability to let players appear in games and still preserve a redshirt.
“I’m on the side of this where I’d just like to make it five for five,” he said. “Let’s just go five for five and just get rid of all the exceptions, all the arguments, all the negotiations, all the stuff and just be like, ‘Hey, you got five years to play five years.’ Or for that matter just go four for four and just let it be.”
Until that happens, Kentucky has to live in the gray area. Hawthorne will sit for now, with Pope carrying both arguments around every day: the short-term help the freshman might give, and the long-term value of saving a year.
Add in that fellow newcomer Reece Potter is already locked into a redshirt as he works through a long-term health issue, Pope called him a “really good basketball player” who does some things better than anyone on the roster, and it is clear the staff is thinking big picture with this class.
Once Hawthorne checks into a game, there is no going back. Until Kentucky is absolutely sure, he will stay in the bullpen.