Mark Pope misses on another Kentucky target despite overseas visit

Things have been quiet on the recruiting trail for a prolonged period for Kentucky. Mark Pope's third-year team seems nearly complete, but with leftover NIL funds remaining on the table and a handful of roster needs in wait, things remain in motion for the Wildcats. One of those needs is a backup center for Malachi Moreno.

That is, of course, assuming Moreno returns from the NBA Draft. We'll cross that bridge when we bear it; for the time, Kentucky's staff is in hot pursuit of a secondary option at the five. And, for a few weeks, it seemed as if Marcio Santos was the priority.

Yet, per Jonathan Givony, the big man out of Israel that Coach Pope flew to see in-person last week has committed elsewhere. Santos will join Will Wade and LSU, meaning another Kentucky offer has been left on the table and, still, the Cats remains without a secondary center.

Marcio Santos Leaves Kentucky Waiting

One glance at Santos' highlight reel evidences the 23-year old's lethal ability to get downhill. While potentially undersized at the five, the big more than makes up for it with his 250-pound build.

This past season with Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, Santos managed to shoot a hyper-consistent 51% clip from the field overall, exhibiting the ability to stretch his game out to the arc in the process, too. He's clean mechanically and stable on both sides of the ball.

Wade, in his first year back in Baton Rouge, got a good one. Santos likely leaned LSU given the opportunity to start, as well as a potentially deeper NIL bag. But either way, the guy was a big-time Kentucky target that Pope went out of his way to try and secure.

This is, unfortunately, another recruiting miss. The Wildcats will have to pivot once again.

The Wildcats Pivot Once More

Though, as the weeks tarry on and options fly off the board with haste, the question becomes: Who will Kentucky pivot to?

Currently, with Santos now officially out of the picture, the Cats have no names clearly circled in the way of frontcourt depth. The transfer portal is still active, but many of the recognizable names that the Wildcats could have once been in on are now long gone.

Now nearly a week into May, Coach Pope's time for picking and choosing is likely waning. Whatever is going wrong in Kentucky's recruiting process may have to be solved with a blank check now, and a painful overhaul later.

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