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Why is it so difficult for Mark Pope to recruit?

C

ChocoChicken

Junior
Apr 6, 2026
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Seems like the overall consensus is that CMP has difficulty convincing players to play for Kentucky. I don’t know how else to describe the unique situation UK has seemingly been in since he started coaching here. It’s fascinating. I don’t remember even Tubby and BCG struggling this badly. Even BCG managed to convince some guys that were tantamount in Cal’s successful first 3 seasons.

Is he too honest? Too awkward? Can’t relate to people? What’s going on? How the heck did he convince the AD to hire him over some up-and-comer coach from a mid-major? Like what was his pitch that caused Barnhart to jump on him as soon as Scott Drew turned him down?
 
B

Buckwheat Otay Is Dead

Senior
May 30, 2008
559
729
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ChocoChicken said:
Seems like the overall consensus is that CMP has difficulty convincing players to play for Kentucky. I don’t know how else to describe the unique situation UK has seemingly been in since he started coaching here. It’s fascinating. I don’t remember even Tubby and BCG struggling this badly.

Is he too honest? Too awkward? Can’t relate to people? What’s going on? How the heck did he convince the AD to hire him over some up-and-comer coach from a mid-major? Like what was his pitch that caused Barnhart to jump on him as soon as Scott Drew turned him down?
Click to expand...
Buying not recruiting. Recruiting means free rides, what is now is not college, it’s G League buying. So are you understanding now. They come, you offer them money, and they accept or leave. Got it????
 
C

ChocoChicken

Junior
Apr 6, 2026
96
235
33
Buckwheat Otay Is Dead said:
Buying not recruiting. Recruiting means free rides, what is now is not college, it’s G League buying. So are you understanding now. They come, you offer them money, and they accept or leave. Got it????
Click to expand...
Everyone is offering money. You still have to play the ole wine and dine courting game to convince these guys to come here.
 
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RedwoodHigh

RedwoodHigh

Senior
Nov 18, 2025
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Pope‘s substitution pattern & game schemes this past season were very questionable & with today’s social media exposure- neither was a well kept secret.
Starting Jelly & pulling him out 4 minutes later & then never playing him at crunch time is a typical example. Jasper Johnson’s performance & usage were surely the subject of conversation among former elite teammates.
Only one Former BYU Player following him to Lexington was the first sign. One even went to Louisville.
 
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C

ComebackCats98

All-Conference
Jul 2, 2025
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Honestly most of these guys would like to get paid to play professionally one day. Pope’s entire pitch is about tradition and playing for the name on the front of the jersey. That works great for the fanbase. It doesn’t matter to recruits from around the country. How will they be used? How will they be developed?

It also probably doesn’t help when his highest rated recruit (Jasper Johnson) really struggled and is leaving while his family bashes Pope online. I’m not saying they’re right or wrong in the bashing. I’m just saying if I’m recruiting against UK I use all of that
 
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rick64

rick64

Heisman
Jan 25, 2007
24,687
33,955
113
Kids now care about the offense you run. How will you utilize me. How many minutes will I get. And of course, how much $$$ will you give me.
 
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F

Formerly Imafan4evr_

All-Conference
Jul 31, 2004
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Pope continues to think these kids care that we won some titles back in the day, not seeming to realize that his own glory run was won long before any of them were born and even the most recent when they were too young to remember or care. Sometimes perhaps we forget even our last Final Four is now so far in the rearview that these high school seniors were early grade schoolers at the time. Kentucky isn’t “Kentucky” to them. We’ve been largely irrelevant over half their lives.
 
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philstat

philstat

All-American
Jan 3, 2004
10,385
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Zero bonafides as a coach, he can’t point to one single thing he did as a big time accomplishment, never won a conference title throughout his career, first NCAA wins were these past two seasons, has no big name players he developed, if anything Robinson and Oweh flatlined, solid, nothing special, no true star player has ever played for him!
 
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sefus12

sefus12

Heisman
Dec 22, 2007
7,101
18,907
103
Absolutely no one on here knows what a recruiting visit or discussion with Pope is like, so just a lot of BS being thrown around.

At the end of the day it’s about money for 99.9% of these guys. That’s what recruiting is now. Get paid.
 
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philstat

philstat

All-American
Jan 3, 2004
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sefus12 said:
Absolutely no one on here knows what a recruiting visit or discussion with Pope is like, so just a lot of BS being thrown around.

At the end of the day it’s about money for 99.9% of these guys. That’s what recruiting is now. Get paid.
Click to expand...
Untrue, results speak for themselves, some coaches have the it factor and they can damn near get who they want, that’s not MP by any stretch.
 
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I’m The Village Idiot

I’m The Village Idiot

Heisman
Jul 30, 2024
5,921
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Still believe he can recruit. It’s one of the biggest mythical propagandized talking points in recent memory. Is he an elite recruiter? No. Is he a B+ recruiter? Yes. Bad recruiters don’t pull off top 7 high school class and top 2 portal class in the same year. If Pope is a bad recruiter, everyone in college basketball except Andy Enfield, Hubert Davis, John Calipari, Kelvin Sampson, Tommy Lloyd and Jon Scheyer must be absolutely atrocious:


This is the next “Cal’s teams got awful at offense by the end”…..except his defense fell off and he continued to have great offenses.

(That said, I agree with anyone who said scouting and talent evaluation were a major problem last year.)
 
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G

Goingfor9

All-Conference
Jan 27, 2003
16,068
2,864
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mark is in a completely different world than his recruits culturally. His first two years UK carried him but now with this seasons backlash unfortunately I could easily see a ncaat miss this upcoming season. We have no one. Aren’t projected anyone other than the big dude from out west. Pope is living and dying with a lot of dude from west of the Mississippi
 
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Dr.LutherSan

Dr.LutherSan

All-American
Sep 6, 2019
4,042
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I’m The Village Idiot said:
Still believe he can recruit. It’s one of the biggest mythical propagandized talking points in recent memory. Is he an elite recruiter? No. Is he a B+ recruiter? Yes. Bad recruiters don’t pull off top 7 high school class and top 2 portal class in the same year. If Pope is a bad recruiter, everyone in college basketball except Andy Enfield, Hubert Davis, John Calipari, Kelvin Sampson, Tommy Lloyd and Jon Scheyer must be absolutely atrocious:


This is the next “Cal’s teams got awful at offense by the end”…..except his defense fell off and he continued to have great offenses.

(That said, I agree with anyone who said scouting and talent evaluation were a major problem last year.)
Click to expand...
1. Pope used $22 million to outbid for all of those role players.
2. Outside of Braydon Hawthorne, those high schoolers were all from the state of Kentucky (and outbid).
 
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RedwoodHigh

RedwoodHigh

Senior
Nov 18, 2025
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The truly smart successful coaches know if they can recruit or not.
Ky needs to hire a recruiter/ future pro management assistant.
In the old days Big time programs had assistants to help players hide their money & the source of it. Now players have agents & financial advisers & own real estate
It’s not Ky itself because look at Women Basketball- Baseball & now the recruiting that the football program is doing. It’s the Pope effect & someone needs to sit him down & hip him to what’s going on . Every portal player from Ky 2026 team will go to a March Madness team & successfully move on . THERE’S YOUR SIGN.
GO CATS
 
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I’m The Village Idiot

I’m The Village Idiot

Heisman
Jul 30, 2024
5,921
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Dr.LutherSan said:
1. Pope used $22 million to outbid for all of those role players.
2. Outside of Braydon Hawthorne, those high schoolers were all from the state of Kentucky (and outbid).
Click to expand...
Last time I checked, no rules were broken there. Also, you understand that getting a player (even if from from Ky) means you’ve likely filled a spot that won’t be occupied by someone else. Also, Acaden Lewis was committed — not from Kentucky but left because he got RECRUITED OVER since Pope signed Lowe, a point guard with multiple years of eligibility. You have to do a lot of work to discredit the facts. However, the facts are still there — top 7 and top 5 (or 2).
 
N

NineBannersSoon

Redshirt
Mar 3, 2026
46
44
18
Buckwheat Otay Is Dead said:
Buying not recruiting. Recruiting means free rides, what is now is not college, it’s G League buying. So are you understanding now. They come, you offer them money, and they accept or leave. Got it????
Click to expand...

sefus12 said:
Absolutely no one on here knows what a recruiting visit or discussion with Pope is like, so just a lot of BS being thrown around.

At the end of the day it’s about money for 99.9% of these guys. That’s what recruiting is now. Get paid.
Click to expand...
I’m The Village Idiot said:
Still believe he can recruit. It’s one of the biggest mythical propagandized talking points in recent memory. Is he an elite recruiter? No. Is he a B+ recruiter? Yes. Bad recruiters don’t pull off top 7 high school class and top 2 portal class in the same year. If Pope is a bad recruiter, everyone in college basketball except Andy Enfield, Hubert Davis, John Calipari, Kelvin Sampson, Tommy Lloyd and Jon Scheyer must be absolutely atrocious:


This is the next “Cal’s teams got awful at offense by the end”…..except his defense fell off and he continued to have great offenses.

(That said, I agree with anyone who said scouting and talent evaluation were a major problem last year.)
Click to expand...

I’m The Village Idiot said:
Still believe he can recruit. It’s one of the biggest mythical propagandized talking points in recent memory. Is he an elite recruiter? No. Is he a B+ recruiter? Yes. Bad recruiters don’t pull off top 7 high school class and top 2 portal class in the same year. If Pope is a bad recruiter, everyone in college basketball except Andy Enfield, Hubert Davis, John Calipari, Kelvin Sampson, Tommy Lloyd and Jon Scheyer must be absolutely atrocious:


This is the next “Cal’s teams got awful at offense by the end”…..except his defense fell off and he continued to have great offenses.

(That said, I agree with anyone who said scouting and talent evaluation were a major problem last year.)
Click to expand...
So if he recruits so well he must not be a great coach, right?
 
A

Anon1774630942

Freshman
Mar 27, 2026
64
57
18
Dork with a lot of corny cliches. Doesn't recruit with a crisp plan, a crystallized view of how it's all going to work, because he can't get or retain anyone.
 
2

20MRoster

All-Conference
Nov 16, 2018
729
1,359
88
I’m The Village Idiot said:
Still believe he can recruit. It’s one of the biggest mythical propagandized talking points in recent memory. Is he an elite recruiter? No. Is he a B+ recruiter? Yes. Bad recruiters don’t pull off top 7 high school class and top 2 portal class in the same year. If Pope is a bad recruiter, everyone in college basketball except Andy Enfield, Hubert Davis, John Calipari, Kelvin Sampson, Tommy Lloyd and Jon Scheyer must be absolutely atrocious:


This is the next “Cal’s teams got awful at offense by the end”…..except his defense fell off and he continued to have great offenses.

(That said, I agree with anyone who said scouting and talent evaluation were a major problem last year.)
Click to expand...
Your point is true at face value, but two things stick out:
1 - the recruiting rankings overvalue quantity over quality (IMO)
2 - he outspent everyone BY FAR

The constraints need to be normalized for. He's not a good recruiter when you factor in the advantages he had vs the results. No Wilson, Yaxel, Dent, Folgueiras, Wilkerson, etc. You can't be a B+ recruiter and whiff on ALL of them.
 
BlueSince92

BlueSince92

All-Conference
Jul 2, 2025
10,497
2,874
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It doesn't even matter if it was $22 million or not.

Pope was at Kentucky with Kentucky money, went after all the same big names that everyone else went after over the course of nearly three whole recruiting cycles now, and got NONE of them. No way in Hell is he a B+ recruiter.
 
ZaytovenCat

ZaytovenCat

All-American
Apr 25, 2013
23,908
8,463
97
I’m The Village Idiot said:
Still believe he can recruit. It’s one of the biggest mythical propagandized talking points in recent memory. Is he an elite recruiter? No. Is he a B+ recruiter? Yes. Bad recruiters don’t pull off top 7 high school class and top 2 portal class in the same year. If Pope is a bad recruiter, everyone in college basketball except Andy Enfield, Hubert Davis, John Calipari, Kelvin Sampson, Tommy Lloyd and Jon Scheyer must be absolutely atrocious:


This is the next “Cal’s teams got awful at offense by the end”…..except his defense fell off and he continued to have great offenses.

(That said, I agree with anyone who said scouting and talent evaluation were a major problem last year.)
Click to expand...
B+ recruiter my ***. The ONLY reason he got Moreno and Johnson here were because they happen to be from KY. Pope is a C- recruiter and that won’t remotely cut it here.
 
ZaytovenCat

ZaytovenCat

All-American
Apr 25, 2013
23,908
8,463
97
Goingfor9 said:
mark is in a completely different world than his recruits culturally. His first two years UK carried him but now with this seasons backlash unfortunately I could easily see a ncaat miss this upcoming season. We have no one. Aren’t projected anyone other than the big dude from out west. Pope is living and dying with a lot of dude from west of the Mississippi
Click to expand...
Those kids from out west never stay very long either. Not that it’ll matter in this case since Pope will be gone by this time next year. But kids from the west rarely come east and even when they do they end up transferring back out west. Something about kids out there are just soft and can’t stand being away from home. It’s been that way for decades. It’s a miracle Hayes and Prince stayed 4 years here.
 
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