Cats fans, rewind to last October: Kentucky had visits scheduled with players ranked No. 1 through 63 in the 2026 cycle, most of whom were weighted in the upper echelon of that range.
Mark Pope and the Wildcats staff certainly were not shy about going after the best players in high school during the cycle at the time. The problem, though? None of them ended up in the blue and white.
Pope seemed to, at one point, have a lock on Christian Collins, but the deal fell through at the last minute. Now a lot of folks, including insider Kyle Tucker, are blaming the recruiting fallout Pope's insistence on holding on to Tyran Stokes. Stokes, who committed to Kansas on Monday, was rumored to have already signed his NIL paperwork with the Jayhawks before even visiting Lexington earlier this month. Brutal, to say the least.
Suffering Because of Stokes
Could it have been that the staff was misled by a recruit playing both sides of the fence? Maybe, perhaps even likely. But it goes deeper than that. Mark Pope and his staff, like John Calipari before him, has started to close the doors on Kentucky's interior processes. Little to nobody knows what's going on behind closed doors; Pope can only now be judged by his results.
Once it became clear Stokes was leaning toward Kansas, Kentucky likely would've benefitted from pivoting to the next-best-star. Instead, Coach Pope is left with a roster seemingly lacking a go-to guy, unless someone steps up unexpectedly.
Solid pieces like Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins will make Kentucky competitive - but who will take, and make, the big shots? Who gets the ball when nobody else can get loose? Kentucky is good right now, and could win a chunk of big games with the team at hand. But title contention, the "assignment" in Lexington, doesn't currently seem to be in the picture.
Now, of course, that can change when the games actually start. It's also worth mentioning that Pope, as a result of Stokes turning heel, is now sitting on a massive chunk of NIL leftovers that could lead to a different stud being signed as a result.
One way or another, Cats fans will get behind the guys who hit the floor for Kentucky regardless. Criticism, recruiting misfires, and shadowy frustrations aside, a Wildcats is a Wildcat. BBN will be cheering tirelessly for wins this fall, regardless of who ultimately hits the floor.
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