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There will be money for Hampton's buddy and #1 overall recruit Marcus Spears as well.

Son_Of_Saul

Son_Of_Saul

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UK is reported to be spending somewhere between $10 to $12 million combined for Moreno and Momci next season. I'm guessing Hampton's value is around $3-4 million. That means UK will have the departing money of the M&M fellas to spend on the #1 overall recruit Marcus Spears Jr., a 6'10" elite big man who would fill a number of positional needs for Kentucky.

It should be noted that Hampton is also close with 6'9" F and top 5 recruit CJ Rosser, who you might remember as being the recruit that Pope went fishing with.

UK is in good position I would imagine to land one of them.

Then you bring back Wilkins, Mason Williams, Diallo, Kam Williams, Morton (who could get a 5th year if the NCAA officially passes the 5 for 5 rule), N'Diaye and McBride who could also get the extra year of eligibility.

Then you add a pair of bigs from the portal.

That's a legit squad:

G - Diallo - Mason Williams
G - Wilkins - Kam Williams
G - Hampton - Hawthorne - Kam Williams - Noah
F - Spears or Rosser - N'Diaye or possibly McBride
C - Portal big man - Portal big man - Potter

Hampton's commitment could change everything, especially if UK lands Crawford as an assistant in a few weeks.
 
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Im The Village Idiot

Im The Village Idiot

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jizz in my pants GIF
 
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Wildcat_in_DC

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returning 7-9 players is almost impossible to do in this era. we should be happy with 3 or 4. especially if guys know some 5 star guys are coming in.

but if pope turns around his recruiting thats great. bring 2-3 high level guys. return 3 maybe 4 guys who are starters/rotation guys. get 3-4 top portal dudes.
 
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true-blue1

true-blue1

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Son_Of_Saul said:
UK is reported to be spending somewhere between $10 to $12 million combined for Moreno and Momci next season. I'm guessing Hampton's value is around $3-4 million. That means UK will have the departing money of the M&M fellas to spend on the #1 overall recruit Marcus Spears Jr., a 6'10" elite big man who would fill a number of positional needs for Kentucky.

It should be noted that Hampton is also close with 6'9" F and top 5 recruit CJ Rosser, who you might remember as being the recruit that Pope went fishing with.

UK is in good position I would imagine to land one of them.

Then you bring back Wilkins, Mason Williams, Diallo, Kam Williams, Morton (who could get a 5th year if the NCAA officially passes the 5 for 5 rule), N'Diaye and McBride who could also get the extra year of eligibility.

Then you add a pair of bigs from the portal.

That's a legit squad:

G - Diallo - Mason Williams
G - Wilkins - Kam Williams
G - Hampton - Hawthorne - Kam Williams - Noah
F - Spears or Rosser - N'Diaye or possibly McBride
C - Portal big man - Portal big man - Potter

Hampton's commitment could change everything, especially if UK lands Crawford as an assistant in a few weeks.
Click to expand...
I think Hampton and Spears Jr are cousins.
 
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FitchandMurray29

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What I’m about to say isn’t any UK homerism or anything…but are we sure Milan and Moreno are going anywhere?

Milan could play a 5th year possibly(5 in 5 rule) and was approximately a 40th pick in the NBA type guy after a historic efficiency season due to very limiting physical tools that don’t project to improve.

Moreno was an analytics/potential darling at a historically weak position in the draft as a fringe first rounder this past year. With more PT will those faults that fans harped on become more talked about nationally? He also isn’t some freak athlete by any stretch.

Honestly regardless of what school they’re at, they both feel like professional college players to me.

Maybe Moreno really progresses and plays into a surefire first rounder where he might not make more money right away but starting that NBA clock for second and third contracts could make a lot of sense for him, assuming he has a really good season this year.
 
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Im The Village Idiot

Im The Village Idiot

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FitchandMurray29 said:
What I’m about to say isn’t any UK homerism or anything…but are we sure Milan and Moreno are going anywhere?

Milan could play a 5th year possibly(5 in 5 rule) and was approximately a 40th pick in the NBA type guy after a historic efficiency season due to very limiting physical tools that don’t project to improve.

Moreno was an analytics/potential darling at a historically weak position in the draft as a fringe first rounder this past year. With more PT will those faults that fans harped on become more talked about nationally? He also isn’t some freak athlete by any stretch.

Honestly regardless of what school they’re at, they both feel like professional college players to me.

Maybe Moreno really progresses and plays into a surefire first rounder where he might not make more money right away but starting that NBA clock for second and third contracts could make a lot of sense for him, assuming he has a really good season this year.
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I’d bet money that neither Momcilovic or Moreno are lottery picks next year as well. That doesn’t mean they can’t be wonderful college players. I expect if we have a good year this year, 2028 is even better if we return the right guys.

The guys on this team I could see with lottery pick ceilings are:

Diallo — jumbo guard with elite playmaking potential

Wilkins — three level scorer with speed and passing vision

N’Diaye — freakish speed for his size, good shooting and athleticism

K. Williams — three and D potential, has to improve cutting and finishing.

B. Hawthorne — Good size, versatility, highly skilled

More than likely none of those guys becomes a lottery pick without a major jump. I think Moreno would have to really take an insane leap in conditioning and offensive skillset to become a lottery pick due to his lateral quickness deficiency.
 
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Woodrow24

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Now that Pope had adapted to recruiting at this level I think he’s going to do a really good job from this point on. He’s a good bench coach and now that he will have more talent I believe he’s going to do a good job here. Huge turnaround in a short period of time with recruiting. I’m impressed and happy for him.
 
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*Fox2Monk*

*Fox2Monk*

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Son_Of_Saul said:
UK is reported to be spending somewhere between $10 to $12 million combined for Moreno and Momci next season. I'm guessing Hampton's value is around $3-4 million. That means UK will have the departing money of the M&M fellas to spend on the #1 overall recruit Marcus Spears Jr., a 6'10" elite big man who would fill a number of positional needs for Kentucky.

It should be noted that Hampton is also close with 6'9" F and top 5 recruit CJ Rosser, who you might remember as being the recruit that Pope went fishing with.

UK is in good position I would imagine to land one of them.

Then you bring back Wilkins, Mason Williams, Diallo, Kam Williams, Morton (who could get a 5th year if the NCAA officially passes the 5 for 5 rule), N'Diaye and McBride who could also get the extra year of eligibility.

Then you add a pair of bigs from the portal.

That's a legit squad:

G - Diallo - Mason Williams
G - Wilkins - Kam Williams
G - Hampton - Hawthorne - Kam Williams - Noah
F - Spears or Rosser - N'Diaye or possibly McBride
C - Portal big man - Portal big man - Potter

Hampton's commitment could change everything, especially if UK lands Crawford as an assistant in a few weeks.
Click to expand...
Don’t me excited now! Getting Rosser would be sweet. It’s a great start, now keep him committed and let him start getting other elite guys on board. If by some miracle Pope could snag a class like that, play the way he really wants to, and bring us back to elite status then he would work here. Changing his narrative of not having elite guys succeed here and the NBA would open his career up. This week could change his career here if he builds on it. Get Jamal in here to help…
 
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Im The Village Idiot

Im The Village Idiot

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Woodrow24 said:
Props to @Im The Village Idiot. You backed pope respectfully and I’m glad some of you all were right. I honestly didn’t think the guy could do it and I’m glad I was wrong
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I appreciate the call out brother. It’s a kind thing. I also had stopped believing in Pope myself.

And you weren’t wrong anyway. Things were difficult last year. I’m just hopeful we all get to enjoy a positive wave of momentum. All credit goes to Pope and staff for working to change the narrative. Job’s not done — means zilch without backing it up on the court. I’m confident they will.
 
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Woodrow24

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Im The Village Idiot said:
I appreciate the call out brother. It’s a kind thing. I also had stopped believing in Pope myself.

And you weren’t wrong anyway. Things were difficult last year. I’m just hopeful we all get to enjoy a positive wave of momentum. All credit goes to Pope and staff for working to change the narrative. Job’s not done — means zilch without backing it up on the court. I’m confident they will.
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He’s going to be fine now. He’s a solid bench coach and makes halftime adjustments really well. I felt like he needed more talent the past two seasons and he’s getting more talent now. I’m so happy I was wrong, I always felt bad for criticizing Pope because he’s a nice guy and was a member of my favorite team.

I’m really happy about football right now too. I need to do a better job talking about that more on the board. I think stein is going to do an awesome job.
 
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seccats04

seccats04

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Woodrow24 said:
He’s going to be fine now. He’s a solid bench coach and makes halftime adjustments really well. I felt like he needed more talent the past two seasons and he’s getting more talent now. I’m so happy I was wrong, I always felt bad for criticizing Pope because he’s a nice guy and was a member of my favorite team.

I’m really happy about football right now too. I need to do a better job talking about that more on the board. I think stein is going to do an awesome job.
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Stein has been an A+ hire for the offseason. I hope it carries over into the coaching aspect when the season starts. I’m confident it will.
 
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Padsfs07

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LSU will be tough to beat out for Spears. His dad was an All-American football player, and his mom was an All-American basketball player there.

His sister is signed on to play volleyball at Texas and they are recruiting him hard as well.

Plus Alvin Brooks was our lead recruiter for him since Spears is in Texas at Jermaine O'Neal's prep school.
 
TX Wildcat

TX Wildcat

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Padsfs07 said:
LSU will be tough to beat out for Spears. His dad was an All-American football player, and his mom was an All-American basketball player there.

His sister is signed on to play volleyball at Texas and they are recruiting him hard as well.

Plus Alvin Brooks was our lead recruiter for him since Spears is in Texas at Jermaine O'Neal's prep school.
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Spears Jr. seems like a home run big money player destined to follow his sister to Texas (not sure Pops will let him play for Wild Will Wade).

The better chance seems to be CJ Rosser. Will have to battle the likes of Woo Pig Sooie, UNCheat and Papa Johns U, but having Hampton on board helps if we demonstrate real progress showing off our front court in a fast-paced motion offense this season. He's already been on campus (unofficial visit on 02/04/2026) and let's not forget the day fishing with Pope and McLean
 
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