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Mark Pope has done his best to bridge the gap between generations of Kentucky basketball history since taking over as head coach, most notably by bringing back dozens of legends across every era from Adolph Rupp to John Calipari for his introductory press conference. The 1996 national championship squad has been all in from day one, obviously, as have the likes of Jack “Goose” Givens, Rex Chapman and Richie Farmer, among a long list of others. Shoot, Pope single-handedly brought Rick Pitino back from villain territory, Big Blue Nation ready to welcome back the Hall of Fame coach with open arms...
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John Wall has made it clear he won’t be picking sides between John Calipari and Kentucky following their offseason breakup, staying loyal to both. He’s driven that point time and time again, now bringing Mark Pope on as a guest on his podcast to talk about his start in Lexington and the start of practice at the Joe Craft Center. Part of the conversation? Wall telling Pope he would be an ally moving forward, hanging around the program and helping out when needed, making it clear he was always a phone call away. “I’m definitely going to come to games, for sure. You know that,” the Kentucky legen...
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You couldn’t really put a bow on the draft withdrawal deadline until one of the top players testing the waters made his decision official, Jaxson Robinson choosing whether to keep his name in and pursue his professional dreams or pull it out and return to school for one final year. Every other major announcement was made before midnight while the former BYU star’s lingered into the early afternoon on Thursday, surprising the basketball world with a withdrawal and immediate commitment to Kentucky. And with that, the draft list is official — no turning back to college now. While decisions are st...
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The wait is over, all of that late-night panicking for nothing: Jaxson Robinson is a Kentucky Wildcat. The BYU star blew through the midnight withdrawal deadline without making a peep, leaving folks on the NBA and NCAA sides in the dark regarding his intentions. He didn’t technically have to announce anything if he were keeping his name in the draft, leading to some speculation he was giving the old Irish Goodbye to college basketball. Others thought he was deep in negotiations with schools involved and planned to align his withdrawal announcement with a college commitment, cutting out an exte...
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We are just a hair beyond the 24-hour mark of the 2024 NBA Draft withdrawal deadline, scheduled for Wednesday, May 29 at 11:59 p.m. ET. It’s a crucial day for players still deciding whether to pull their names out and return to college or keep them in and pursue their professional dreams for good. Kentucky, as you well know by now, is in the middle of a few crucial stay/go decisions, the Wildcats counting down the clock just like the rest of us. Mark Pope and his coaching staff have pushed their chips in on some talent capable of moving the needle by a postseason round or two, adding to a core...
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2025 five-star forward Cameron Boozer made headlines to open the spring by saying Kentucky was a “completely different program” under Mark Pope following John Calipari’s departure. He also added that Coach Cal compared his move to Fayetteville to a high-profile business relocating: “Same coach, just moving headquarters,” he said. After being seen as a sneaky darkhorse for the son of Duke legend Carlos Boozer, Kentucky was off to a shaky start with the consensus No. 2 overall prospect in the rising senior class, to put it lightly. Positive movement with KentuckyAs the dust has settled, though, ...
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Mark Pope is in a comfortable, yet tricky position as he looks to close out his debut roster in Lexington. On one hand, Kentucky has built out a dynamite core group that is loaded with talented system fits from top to bottom, 11 players who bring something unique to the table while positively impacting winning. You’ve got shooters, facilitators, defenders, size, athleticism and experience, a unit capable of competing in the SEC as currently constructed — it’s already deeper and more talented than the BYU roster that finished fifth in the Big 12 last season, a conference that tied the SEC for f...
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Tounde Yessoufou can’t tell his basketball story without including the Kentucky Wildcats. A native of Benin in West Africa, the top-20 prospect in the class of 2025 started playing basketball when he was 10 years old, sparking his move to the United States to pursue his dream of doing it professionally. He arrived shortly before his freshman year at St. Joseph High School in Santa Maria, California just three years ago with his eyes on Lexington. “Nobody in my family ever played basketball, I just saw it and loved it,” the 6-6 forward said. “I knew I wanted to put my heart into it. Coming to t...
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Mark Pope didn’t shy away from expectations when he first took the job at Kentucky, saying from day one he wants the weight of No. 9 on his shoulders. It’s a standard he believes is a non-negotiable when you sit in that chair as the leader of the Wildcats. Since then, he’s double, triple and quadrupled down on that approach, namely in the players he’s bringing in to help bring the next national championship banner back to Lexington. Pope sat down with Andy Katz of NCAA.com to talk about those expectations and the roster he’s building to turn those dreams into a reality, among other notes — inc...
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There is a new name of interest for Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats — and it’s a familiar face for Big Blue Nation. Harlan County star Trent Noah has been granted his release from South Carolina and is officially a free agent, reopening his recruitment “with hopes of pursuing basketball opportunities closer to home.” A top-125 prospect nationally and the state’s all-time fifth leading scorer, the pairing is an obvious one for both sides. It’s a chance for Pope to fill out his roster with a high-level depth piece capable of being a foundational fit with long-term upside, but one who can ste...
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