The week of John Calipari’s departure from Kentucky and acceptance of the Arkansas job was one of the biggest stories in sports, so much so that it overshadowed the Final Four.

Details have slowly leaked out in the months since, but Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yuracheck provided the most detailed story of events so far during a speaking event in Little Rock.

According to Yurachek, Calipari arranged for a man with a “black Phillies hat” to meet him out front of the Hilton hotel he was staying at in Phoenix. In what is described as a mobster-esque scene, the anonymous man provided Yurachek with a key card during a handshake, and whispered to him the room number, “523”.

Yurachek says after a few hours of talking with Calipari about Arkansas’ open men’s basketball coaching position and discussing other candidates, he posed the question, “Why not you?”

While the offer was not presented on paper, a verbal offer was made and discussions of prospective employment did take place. This was possibly (for legal reasons) a breach of Calipari’s contract at Kentucky as he did not inform Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, prior to or after the meeting with Yurachek, according to reports.

During the term of this Agreement, Coach [Calipari] shall notify the Director of Athletics [Barnhart] of any offers of employment, employment opportunities or requests for meetings or discussions with respect to possible employment opportunities before engaging in substantive discussions regarding such employment or employment opportunities.

On April 9th, Calipari resigned from his position at Kentucky, forfeiting $33 million that he would be owed in a buyout, and was introduced as the head coach of the Razorbacks the following day.

This probably isn’t the first situation like this, nor will it be the last. However, it is likely a story the Calipari didn’t want to be said out loud.

A crazy turn of events.

The Kentucky basketball team is set to shoot a lot of three-pointers this season under Mark Pope and his offense. This summer, assistant Cody Feuger went as far as to say he wants to see the Wildcats attempt 35 threes per game. For context, North Florida led the nation in three-point attempts last year with 33.2.

To shoot that many threes, you need a lot of good shooters on the roster and the Kentucky added several this offseason. A lot of talk has been on freshman Travis Perry, but the Wildcats added Dayton transfer Koby Brea, who shot a nation-leading 49.8% from three last season on 201 attempts.

With proven ELITE shooting ability at the collegiate level, it should come as no surprise that Brea was listed as the top shooter in the nation going into the 2024-25 season, by Andy Katz.

Brea is excited to see what he can do in Mark Pope’s offense, which he cited as the reason he transferred to Kentucky.

“That was the biggest draw for me. I was probably coming here just to see how perfect the system was for me,” said Brea during summer interviews. “Coach Pope did a great job of explaining to me where I can excel in the offense, the hit system in general, and the defensive system as well.”

Recruiting was a concern when Mark Pope was named the head coach of Kentucky back in April. Previously the coach at BYU, Pope was respected for his Xs and Os, but he never had a class ranked inside the Top 75.

A big reason for that was the unique set of challenges of recruiting at BYU. That included finding players willing to honor the school’s strict honor code, which doesn’t permit students to consume tea or coffee on campus. Now at Kentucky, Pope no longer has that level of restriction. Having hired two of the best recruiters in the country and using one of the biggest brands in the sport, he is going after some of the nation’s best.

Over the last month, he has already received commitments from two Top 25 prospects from the Lexington area, in Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno. Those two form the second-best class in the 247Sports rankings at the moment, and more are sure to be added.

How is Mark Pope attracting that talent? An infectious energy and enthusiasm for his alma mater that he now coaches for.

“The first time talking to him you could tell he’s got amazing energy,” five-star prospect Tounde Yessoufou said of Pope this summer. “His energy man, like I said his energy is amazing. Being around coaches like that, I just feel like he would push you hard to be the best you can be. So I’m just loving him.”

That energy is helping Pope and the staff build connections with players and their families. “They’re great people,” five-star Chris Cenac said of the staff this summer. “They FaceTime me often, they talk to me a lot. Great sense of humor, great guys, it’s great getting to know them honestly.”

Ryan Hampton, the No. 1 prospect in the 2027 class, is one of the latest recruits to receive interest from Kentucky. The standout sophomore cannot be contacted directly by coaches until July 15th due to NCAA guidelines, but Pope has made an impression on his father.

“Mark Pope is recruiting to put Kentucky where it should be: Back at the top.”