Men's Basketball

Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart Hindering Kentucky Basketball Program, Per Report

Published

2 years ago

January 12, 2023

UK Athletics

John Calipari and Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart are not ones to swap Christmas cards with each other, but have had to coexist over the last decade-plus. While the relationship between the two has never been great, it was better at one time.

When DeWayne Peevy, who’s now the AD at DePaul, served as an assistant Athletic Director at Kentucky (2008-2020), he acted as the intermediary between Calipari and Barnhart. In this role, Peevy was key in helping the basketball program secure funding.

Without Peevy, that relationship has turned for the worse and is basically non-existent. This hasn’t been helped by Calipari’s “football school” comments from this summer and the results of the basketball program in recent seasons.

With that said, just how bad has it gotten? A report suggests that Barnhart is significantly hampering the basketball program.

Let’s start with this past summer’s “football school” comments. According to Kyle Tucker of the Athletic, Calipari wanted to immediately publicly apologize, but was told by Barnhart not to.

Instead, Barnhart joined football coach Mark Stoops for a bizarre press conference, where he seemingly took shots directly at Calipari, including the following quotes:

“The desire for more should be met with a sense of gratitude.” – Mitch Barnhart

“Grown-ups are going to have to figure this out and be a little better. Sometimes when you get a little bit of success, you get a little entitled.” – Mitch Barnhart

Barnhart’s response undoubtedly fueled the basketball vs. football narrative and deepened the divide.

Given Barnhart’s quotes, it should come as no surprise that Barnhart is limiting additional funding for the basketball program.

During a radio show this summer, Calipari talked about his wish for a new practice facility, replacing/upgrading the Joe Craft Center, which was completed in early 2007. Given that this is a 15-year-old facility and has fallen behind other top programs, one could argue that this was a reasonable request.

Calipari even suggested that he was willing to raise money on his own, just as he did in 2012 with the locker rooms. Following through with that, Calipari is reported to have secured pledges of about $30 million in private funding, mostly from his former players in the NBA.

This $30 million tag matches the cost of what it cost to build the Joe Craft Center in 2007, adjusting for inflation that cost would be $43 million today. With that said, that is 70 percent of the money needed if the cost is similar. It is important to note, this source of funding would likely only be available if Calipari is the coach.

Yet, Barnhart has met Calipari with resistance and, “refuses to let him proceed with planning a facility,” said Tucker. If true, this seems to be an ego move by Barnhart, which is bad for everyone involved.

Finally, one of the biggest things actively hurting Kentucky basketball right now is Barnhart’s refusal to allow and add support staff positions. While the current full-time assistant staff has paid dividends on the recruiting trail, this was the focus when they were hired, excluding Bruiser. As a staff, it is clear that X’s & O’s and building player relationships have taken a step back.

Calipari is aware of this and has asked Barnhart to add an additional support staff position for a general manager, and suggested that ‘offensive coordinator’, and ‘defensive coordinator’ are positions that Calipari would be interested in adding as well. Despite UK’s staff being smaller compared to other top programs, Barnhart has denied this request.

What is worrying is that Tucker is told that, assistant video director Andrew Ortelli, and graduate assistant Riley Welch are doing “most” of the actual scouting work for the team. This is unacceptable and shows why Kentucky has looked ill-prepared so often.

Yet, the football staff includes three assistants that are paid over $1 million per year (Liam Coen (OC) $1.7 Million, Vince Marrow (Recruiting Coordinator) $1.2 million, Brad White (DC) $1.4 million). This is not to say that they don’t deserve it, but it is clear that Barnhart is giving preferential treatment to the football program.

As quoted earlier in this article from Barnhart, “Grown-ups are going to have to figure this out and be a little better.”

Maybe it is time for Barnhart to take his own advice, or it may be time for him to hang it up.

You can read the entire story on The Athletic here.

Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

Published

1 day ago

April 23, 2025

Lane Mills

Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.

Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2025

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.

Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.

Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.

Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.

Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.

Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.

Men's Basketball

Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky

Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2025

Lane Mills

UF Athletics

Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.

A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.

At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat.

In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.

Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.

Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.