The Mark Pope “whiff” has become a common prospect of big blue circles online, with fans slamming the big blue panic button upon every perceived mishap Mark Pope has made this offseason. Now more than ever, though, Kentucky's online pessimists may have a point.
Just one day removed from his visit to Lexington, Robert Wright III has been confirmed by Jon Rothstein to return to BYU. Kentucky's seemingly surefire point guard pickup has turned heel for an unclear reason, spurning Pope and his staff and keeping his lease in-tact out west.
If this was at any point this was truly Pope and Kentucky's recruitment to lose, they have now officially lost it. A truly worrying miss, no matter how you spin it.
A Worrying Miss For Pope and Kentucky
Wright, since his entry into the transfer portal, was inarguably the leading guard in this class. Averaging just below 20 points per contest and shooting north of 40% from long range, he had all the tools to fill a spot that this past year's Kentucky team lacked.
A pure floor general is invaluable to any system, although especially so in one such as Mark Pope's, which thrives on ball movement and scoring from distance at its best. Whatever happened following Wright's arrival on campus must've been brutal, although this misfire doesn't mean Kentucky is out of options.
Most notably, Zoom Diallo remains in the portal and should now be at the top of Kentucky's list. The uber-physical point guard is seemingly built for the SEC and, in spite of his lesser scoring numbers than Wright, Diallo makes his bank in other ways.
The former Washington Husky has already visited Kentucky, too, and doesn't appear to have any significant pull from another school. You almost have to make that happen, if you're Pope.
Kentucky Must Move On
Oftentimes in the transfer era, it's hard to define when a team truly "misses" on someone, for one reason or another. Here, though, Kentucky's interest was clear and their pursuit of Wright was widely reported. This is a textbook miss, if there ever was one.
But basketball still must be played and a team must be built; Kentucky has to move on from Wright, and has to do it fast. Look out for the aforementioned Diallo, as well as Colgate transfer Jalen Cox, to rise to the top of Kentucky's list transfer targets in the days to come.
Chin up, BBN. It's a long offseason.
Add us as a preferred source on Google