Trending in the right direction with Stokes

Rainmaker

All-Conference
May 13, 2015
1,038
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We have no shot at Stokes if our offer isn’t north of that. Way north of that. 7-8. That’s the only way a guy like stokes joins the current dumpster fire.
I believe our offer to be almost double what Kansas has put together. So say what you want, there is definitely a way we land him if we play it right. Schools aren’t throwing around that type of money and Kansas has been burned by Peterson. 2-3 million in NIL is a ton and not many make more or are being offered more currently.
 

LargeMarge

Redshirt
Feb 12, 2026
29
33
13
No it’s pretty widely reported, agreed upon and known. He’s a rough one. That said everyone’s situation is different, I’m a clean guy now but this was me back in the day:

Awkward Season 3 GIF by The Office
I'm glad you changed bro
 

SamePooter

All-Conference
Feb 21, 2026
946
1,232
93
Is that Dybansta money? I'd be ok with it for sure just the the message that yes we want the top studs.
Stokes is a dybansta player imo. Different games for sure. Stokes will have an immediate impact on the college game like dybansta. Maybe even bigger.

Stokes is physically mature. The guy is a tank that can dribble shoot pass at a high level. He’s basically LeBron light.

Ik a lot on here aren’t big on him and don’t think he’s in that category. We will all get to see next season. Hopefully he’s a cat and not at Kansas putting up 25 10 10.
 

SamePooter

All-Conference
Feb 21, 2026
946
1,232
93
Is that Dybansta money? I'd be ok with it for sure just the the message that yes we want the top studs.
Also… even tho i don’t believe the 22 million thing.. say its true. We better be spending it on top players and not backups. If we are spending more than anybody else in college ball already why not give it to the big dogs?
 

jedwar

Heisman
Moderator
Dec 30, 2002
19,607
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Also… even tho i don’t believe the 22 million thing.. say its true. We better be spending it on top players and not backups. If we are spending more than anybody else in college ball already why not give it to the big dogs?
Agree. Pay the studs accordingly. Pay the rest accordingly. You can't spread the wealth when it is not warranted.
 

Broker

All-Conference
Aug 29, 2012
1,646
1,638
113
We have no shot at Stokes if our offer isn’t north of that. Way north of that. 7-8. That’s the only way a guy like stokes joins the current dumpster fire.
Stokes is a long forgotten dream of becoming a Wildcat! Why do you guys do this crazy stuff to yourselves? Kentuck or any another school will not offer Stokes anything close to $5+ million. Stokes can will get paid somewhere between $1.5 to $2.5 million. He will go where he will get developed for the NBA draft and win a ton of ballgames.
 
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SamePooter

All-Conference
Feb 21, 2026
946
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Stokes is a long forgotten dream of becoming a Wildcat! Why do you guys do this crazy stuff to yourselves? Kentuck or any another school will not offer Stokes anything close to $5+ million. Stokes can will get paid somewhere between $1.5 to $2.5 million. He will go where he will get developed for the NBA draft and win a ton of ballgames.
You seriously think Stokes is going to go play ball somewhere for 2 million? Didn’t we give a player with a busted acl that lightwork? 2 million seriously?

you don’t have to say anything else. I know for a fact you are also in the category that don’t believe in the 22 million right?
 
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yoshukai

Heisman
Dec 21, 2002
29,652
41,908
102
One thing that worries me is that Stokes pushes this into April and boosters and Mitch are fooled into thinking that keeping Pope will lead to his commitment, only for him to pull the rug out from us and commits elsewhere.
You’re fooling yourself if you think boosters or Mitch are even considering getting rid of Pope this year.
 

jedwar

Heisman
Moderator
Dec 30, 2002
19,607
32,916
113
Stokes is a long forgotten dream of becoming a Wildcat! Why do you guys do this crazy stuff to yourselves? Kentuck or any another school will not offer Stokes anything close to $5+ million. Stokes can will get paid somewhere between $1.5 to $2.5 million. He will go where he will get developed for the NBA draft and win a ton of ballgames.
No one knows for sure but I think his pay will be around 6M. No way I see it at the numbers you said. No way.
 

Broker

All-Conference
Aug 29, 2012
1,646
1,638
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You seriously think Stokes is going to go play ball somewhere for 2 million? Didn’t we give a player with a busted acl that lightwork? 2 million seriously?

you don’t have to say anything else. I know for a fact you are also in the category that don’t believe in the 22 million right?
What we gave JQ is a big rumor just like the $22 million. No way in heck did we spend anywhere close to $22 million for our current roster. Truth be known, less than half of $22M. The $22M crap was spread thinking it might help recruiting. Hoping people would think how much money we have to recruit with. Think about it, kids hear the big payroll number but when Pope sits down with real offers they don't sign here. If we actually were spending $22M we would not have the product that keeps us all pissed and upset.
 

SamePooter

All-Conference
Feb 21, 2026
946
1,232
93
What we gave JQ is a big rumor just like the $22 million. No way in heck did we spend anywhere close to $22 million for our current roster. Truth be known, less than half of $22M. The $22M crap was spread thinking it might help recruiting. Hoping people would think how much money we have to recruit with. Think about it, kids hear the big payroll number but when Pope sits down with real offers they don't sign here. If we actually were spending $22M we would not have the product that keeps us all pissed and upset.
I agree. I never believed the 22 million. Just hard to imagine Pope and Mitch being that corny saying that. Or not denying it. But as the season goes on I understand. We have the biggest cornball in America coaching our team. It all makes sense now.
 

SamePooter

All-Conference
Feb 21, 2026
946
1,232
93
Besides the player he is… we need Stokes simply for when Pope goes after the refs and says that’s BULL HONKEY!! Tyran can come over and say coach no it’s BULL S H I T!!
 
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yoshukai

Heisman
Dec 21, 2002
29,652
41,908
102
To be clear I was referencing Self’s health issues and not either coach’s ability to manage Stokes personality.

BTW is Stokes’ supposed attitude issue a total internet myth? I’ve never seen any actual evidence that he’s some kind of problem child but it’s 100% possible I missed something.
There are some issues with Stokes attitude/personality . Pretty much everyone that is familiar with him agrees he will need an alpha dog type of coach.

Not sure I’d describe Pope as an “alpha dog “, lol
 

Broker

All-Conference
Aug 29, 2012
1,646
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113
There are some issues with Stokes attitude/personality . Pretty much everyone that is familiar with him agrees he will need an alpha dog type of coach.

Not sure I’d describe Pope as an “alpha dog “, lol
If he needs an Alpha dog coach, he may want to look at Houston, Mich St, & TN, because those three coaches will get in your face in a heartbeat. All three would be tough to play for if you have an attitude issue. Those guys would use the end of the bench to get an attitude adjustment.
 
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The_Catfather

All-Conference
May 21, 2002
13,964
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There are some issues with Stokes attitude/personality . Pretty much everyone that is familiar with him agrees he will need an alpha dog type of coach.

Not sure I’d describe Pope as an “alpha dog “, lol
It'd be an odd fit, for sure. I can't picture Stokes debating the Scandiavian Strategy with Pope during a chess match. At the very least we'd need a veteran leader PG to help keep him in check. Which is another thing this year's team seems to be lacking on the court: leadership in any form.
 
Jul 30, 2024
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What we gave JQ is a big rumor just like the $22 million. No way in heck did we spend anywhere close to $22 million for our current roster. Truth be known, less than half of $22M. The $22M crap was spread thinking it might help recruiting. Hoping people would think how much money we have to recruit with. Think about it, kids hear the big payroll number but when Pope sits down with real offers they don't sign here. If we actually were spending $22M we would not have the product that keeps us all pissed and upset.
To play devils advocate, what it if actually was $22M but

- Oweh got injured in the preseason and he was supposed to be your 1A so he was late getting into game shape and rhythm. Finally started looking like Oweh by conference play.

- Lowe got injuried in the preseason and he was supposed to be one of your 1Bs. He tried to play through out but the risk of injury and the pain caused parts of his game that are normally reliable (I.e. his paint finishing and free throw shooting) to be wildly off. He ends up a shell of what was expected, ultimately bowing out to a season ending injury.

- Quaintance was supposed to be another of your 1Bs. While it would take time for him to get acclimated to play after recovering from ACL surgery, he would increase the ceiling significantly for the team and lock down the paint entirely. Unfortunately, this didn’t materialize — we got one real JQ game - St. John’s.

- Chandler was supposed to be your fourth starter/fourth option in a supporting role. Because of issues with all of the 1Bs, he had to step up and do a little more at times than he was projected to.

- Dioubate was expected to be able to keep defenses at least honest from the outside. He shot 46 percent from 3 last year at Bama on low volume, but was threat enough to not have defenders playing all the way into the paint. However, he is simply not able to shoot well enough to earn any defensive interest and doesn’t fit in Pope’s system. This is the one player I will definitely say was a MISEVALUATION by Pope. It doesn’t mean Mo isn’t a good player and I love how he plays — he just doesn’t fit.

- Aberdeen was expected to a 6th man or supporting starter role, who can make open shots and provide backup point minutes where needed. Due to Lowe’s injury, he’s having to play out of position all the time and doing better than expected with it. He gets a lot of hate but doesn’t deserve most it. He earned his money imo.

- Garrison was expected to be able the trigger the offense and be a veteran on thi….BWAHAHA. Can’t even get through this one, can’t can’t believe I was a BGLiever. MISEVALUATION by Pope. And by me.

- Jasper Johnson was expected to be a solid rotation piece that may play himself into a starting guard role. He will be an elite scorer who can go on scoring onslaughts, a microwave of the highest order. In reality, he’s just simply a terrible defender and not a great offensive player either. He was expected to be your backup point guard and play a lot at the two. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have point guard skillsVery limited but he’s young and didn’t progress as fast as expected, happens. MISEVALUATION by Pope and Rivals and On3 and every recruiting guru on the planet virtually.

- Malachi Moreno was supposed to be the 3rd string big on this team and learn behind Brandon Garrison LOL. Well, we will keep it quick — he is far better than expected and he has All-American potential for a sophomore season but for now he’s still pretty raw.

- Kam Williams was supposed to be our 3 and D and super sub. He struggled bad early and by the time he caught on, the team was already in major trouble — then he got injured, out for the season.

- Jelavic was always expected to take time to develop. An international scout pointed out it usually takes Croatian bigs about six months to adjust to the physicality of the SEC. I’d say AJ is about what we should have expected.

^ The roster just didn’t work out as expected. Some of that was not Pope’s fault and some of it was. Whether it was $22M or $10M, it is still something he will hopefully learn from and be better next time. That’s my honest thoughts.
 

SamePooter

All-Conference
Feb 21, 2026
946
1,232
93
It'd be an odd fit, for sure. I can't picture Stokes debating the Scandiavian Strategy with Pope during a chess match. At the very least we'd need a veteran leader PG to help keep him in check. Which is another thing this year's team seems to be lacking on the court: leadership in any form.
Maybe Stokes is the player that will tell Pope to cut all that analytical crap out and go play some real damn ball: that’s all Coach needs. Cut the sound good stuff out. Because when you’re losing it sounds even worse than it did to begin with.

Put your head down go play some fkn basketball. Don’t try to sit a 18 year old kid on the bench because he “might “ get tired.

the more I’m on here the more I just get pissed at Pope. And I’m one that really wanted him to succeed but I just can’t get past the sissy mentality.
 
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Feb 17, 2025
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Look we don't need anymore of this feel good on line ********. Everybody and their mother knows this staff can't recruit and that the word is out to agents and players to stay away from Pope. That is not gonna change why torture yourself.
 
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Monday Nitro

All-American
Jul 3, 2025
4,126
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A little glimmer of hope for this bleak season. There’s growing reason to believe that we may be making significant progress in our pursuit of Tyran Stokes. Based on conversations with multiple trusted people, it appears that we currently have the most competitive NIL package on the table. More importantly, that Stokes and his camp are actively engaging with it.

Kansas has been highly favored for a while now and I had written any chance we had for Stokes off unless Self retired but from what’s circulating they’ve established a financial ceiling that falls noticeably short of what we’ve presented. That’s created a real opening and I’m told he’s seriously entertaining the possibility of coming here. Obviously, nothing is done and it’s a fluid situation but when you start hearing the same message echoed independently by several plugged in people, it’s hard to ignore.

Kentucky has not only re entered the mix but there is a growing belief internally that we may actually be trending into the lead.
Barnhart is going to make sure Pope succeeds to stick it to everyone that engages in bad behavior, whether we get Stokes or not. I'm going to smile ear to ear and keep enjoying the life-long ride that is Kentucky basketball.
 

yoshukai

Heisman
Dec 21, 2002
29,652
41,908
102
I would be absolutely "stoked" if we landed him. He is exactly what the doctor ordered.

AND, he is a kid that other top portal talent will want to come in to play with.

Pope NEEDS to find a way to get it done.
Not so sure about that. Supposedly, a lot of players don’t want to play with him. Supposedly he’s not an easy person to get along with.
 
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SamePooter

All-Conference
Feb 21, 2026
946
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Not so sure about that. Supposedly, a lot of players don’t want to play with him. Supposedly he’s not an easy person to get along with.
Good. I’m tired of all the friendly stuff. Let’s start killing people instead of getting down double digits every game. Other 5 star freshman might not want to be outshined by Stokes but I feel like a upperclassmen portaler won’t have the same mindset.
 

Hitman206

Senior
Jul 11, 2009
453
591
93
I would bet a lot that Jasper is gone this offseason. Not sure if Mo or Lowe are staying to be a backup either, and if we expect them to be backups you would think their NIL offers go down. Will they stay for less money and a smaller role? Lastly, I think Pope has shown he doesn't like Jelavic at the five. It will be an interesting offseason for sure.
Jasper has told people he is gone.
 
Jul 30, 2024
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Can we get an audio? Maybe we did and I missed it. I have a hard time believing Pope said mother fkr😂
Lance Dawe has it in his Locked On Kentucky episode for the Auburn postgame. He heard it himself and was there and someone else recorded it. I’ll get you the video link



5:31

Btw, this is an all-timer episode of Locked On Kentucky. Definitely worth the watch, the whole thing
 

SamePooter

All-Conference
Feb 21, 2026
946
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Lance Dawe has it in his Locked On Kentucky episode for the Auburn postgame. He heard it himself and was there and someone else recorded it. I’ll get you the video link



5:31

Btw, this is an all-timer episode of Locked On Kentucky. Definitely worth the watch, the whole thing

It was kind of muffled but it sounded like he did at least begin to say it. Bring that energy to the game and I’ll gladly be happy with him as a coach. Just bring energy. However that may be. That’s my only complaint with his coaching. Don’t have to be going crazy and cussing every game. Find a way to get your players to run through a brick wall. If he can’t do that I can’t get on board.