Pope answered a short list of questions about Cats fell short

Pope answered a short list of questions about Cats fell short

Kentucky coach Mark Pope has no concerns about the current roster he’s assembled for next season.

Pope answered a short list of questions posted on social media accounts on Wednesday. Within 24 hours, Pope received nearly 2 million views and 5,000 questions on the media platforms X and Instagram.

One question was regarding recruiting and the transfer portal, with 14 of the top players visiting campus and none of them committing to the Wildcats.

“I’d like to get all 20 kids to visit our campus,” he said. “That’s a major win, and there’s no limit … We were chasing a generational talent, and we fell a little short, but we weren’t sitting on our hands. We put together a roster that we are going to love watching crush it in Rupp Arena.”

Pope addressed an inquiry about the No. 5 spot. Pope isn’t concerned and believes Malachi Moreno will return next season. Moreno has declared for the NBA Draft with an option to return to Kentucky next year.

“Malachi Moreno was the No. 1 priority for us going into this portal season,” Pope said. “We think that he’s going to be the best center in all of college basketball next year here at Kentucky. He’s also going through the draft process.”

Pope added that Moreno “had a great workout just last night for an NBA team.” and will be participating in the NBA Combine next week.

“We’re supporting him every step of the way,” he said. “This is the place where basketball dreams come true, and Malachi has two dreams. He’s dreaming of hanging a banner at Kentucky, and he’s dreaming of playing in the NBA, and so we’re supporting him, chasing both of those at the same time.

“We’re working hard in the portal right now to shore up this five-spot. We’re going to have an unbelievable crew at the center position.

He also thinks the addition of Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins from the portal gives the Wildcats a solid backcourt next season.

“One of the top priorities for us going into the portal was finding creators, and these are two of the elite creators in all of college basketball,” he said. “They are going to form a dynamic duo for Kentucky basketball. They are both over 30 percent assist rate. There’s currently only one other roster in the entire country with two players over a 30 percent assist rate. This is going to be awesome.”

The Kentucky coach said the Wildcats are being used by players for more leverage on the recruiting trail.

“We’re the biggest brand in basketball,” Pope said.