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Mark Pope Talks About His Recruiting Approach, “Those Who Belong at Kentucky Are the Very Best Players in All of College Basketball”

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2 years ago

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The hiring of Mark Pope was met with mixed reactions from Kentucky fans, but he is well respected in the coaching community.
Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

When Mark Pope was first hired at Kentucky, multiple coaches who have competed against Pope talked to Kentucky Insider about what to expect. By his peers, Mark Pope is seen as one of the best offensive minds in all of college basketball, but the question was, can he recruit?

In just over a month as Kentucky’s head coach, Pope has filled 11 of his 13 scholarship spots. Eight of those players have come via the transfer portal, which has become the quickest way to fill a roster with talent in such a short span. It also shows Pope’s understanding of the importance of the transfer portal.

That said, going forward it’s clear that Pope wants to maintain the Kentucky brand in recruiting and what it means to some of the best young talent in the country. This past weekend he and his staff were in Texas and Indianapolis watching more than a dozen five-star recruits from the 2025 and 2026 classes, including several top-five prospects. While doing so, he talked to Kyle Tucker of The Athletic about his recruiting approach.

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“We’re just out here recruiting the best players we can get, and the best players you can get at Kentucky are the best players,” Pope said. “I’m used to working with a relatively limited pool, and Kentucky has a relatively limited pool also. It’s just a little different kind of pool. The guys who belong at Kentucky are the very best players in all of college basketball, so those are the guys you’re chasing. And then from that group, we’re chasing guys that really fit us, the way we’re attacking the game and the way we’re playing.”

Of the players that Pope is pursuing and will pursue, they are tiered. “It’s a balance. We’re actually tiering kids,” he said. “The kids we think are one-and-done that we really want to try and grab; another tier of guys we think can come be in the rotation as freshmen; and then a tier of guys you say, ‘Man, I’m telling you, that kid is going to come add something to our program as a freshman, even if he’s not in the rotation, and then he’s going to win us the biggest games in college basketball as a junior or senior.’”

In summary, “We do our best to tier guys and then go hunting and be super deliberate about the guys in each of those pools that we recruit really hard.”

Pope has three assistants who will be helping him on the recruiting trail, two of which are seen as two of the best recruiters in all of college basketball, Alvin Brooks and Jason Hart.

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Brooks comes from Baylor, and his father was the Director of Basketball Operations at Kentucky under Billy Gillespie. Pope calls him: “One of the elite recruiters in all of college basketball, because he builds these super, super deep, meaningful relationships with guys.”

Brooks was responsible for recruiting the likes of Keyonte George, Ja’Kobe Walter, and VJ Edgecombe to Baylor, and is already eyeing two five-star Nike EYBL standouts from Texas to come to Kentucky, Hudson Greer and Shelton Anderson.

As for Hart, he is a former ten-year NBA veteran (player) who was most recently the head coach for the G League Ignite. Before that, he was the associate head coach at USC (2013-21) where he helped recruit some of the best talent in the country and put a half dozen players in the NBA.

“You’re not going to meet a better person in the world than Jason Hart,” Pope said. “He’s got an energy that’s contagious, and he’s really smart and he could spend all day every day in the gym because of how much he loves the game.”

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The third and last recruiting assistant is Cody Fueger, who has been with Pope at Utah Valley and BYU. He is someone that Pope trusts and has worked

“Cody has just been grinding, getting great talent to some of the hardest places in the world to recruit,” Pope said. “So now he’s coming at this from a much different angle: ‘This is easy compared to what I’ve been doing.’ Because it’s Kentucky. And we say that every day: It’s Kentucky.”

Kentucky Insider has talked to one of Pope’s teammates and a fellow coach, Scott Padgett, who is confident that Pope will prove himself as a capable recruiter given his positive attitude, charisma, and worth ethic.

All three have been apparent to Kentucky fans early, and with a talented staff around him, Pope is going to purse the best of the best. As recruiting begins to ramp up with the 2025 class, we will see who that first player is.

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BB Recruiting

Kentucky Is in Daily Contact with Five-Star Big Man Darius Wabbington, “Kentucky’s legacy is no joke”

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2 weeks ago

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July 2, 2026

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Five-star big man Darius Wabbington lists Kentucky among six finalists, praising Mark Pope's coaching, Kentucky's program prestige, and Mo Williams' recruiting energy.
Team USA

As the high school basketball circuits conclude later this month, college basketball coaches are starting to key in on their primary targets for the 2027 class. For Kentucky, one such player is five-star big man Darius Wabbington.

Kentucky assistants Cody Fueger and Mo Williams have been in contact with Wabbington on a daily basis, trying to convince him that Kentucky is the place for him. When asked about Williams, the newest coach on the UK staff, “Great energy,” Wabbington exclaimed. “Another extremely smart coach who knows what it takes to get to the next level.”

Since joining the staff in April, Williams has really made a difference for the Wildcats on the recruiting trail, with multiple prospects having positive things to say about him and his recruiting approach.

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As for what Wabbington is looking for in his future school, he is prioritizing fit and his relationship with the coaching staff, and he has a positive view of Mark Pope and the prestige of Kentucky basketball.

“I think Mark Pope is one of the best coaches in the country, and Kentucky’s legacy is no joke. I’d love to be a part of both”

The two sides are working on setting up a visit, as Kentucky was announced as one of six finalists earlier this week, along with Arizona, Texas, Louisville, Indiana, and North Carolina.

In June, Mark Pope got a commitment from top-ten prospect, Ryan Hampton, who Wabbington calls “my guy,” and could begin recruiting him to join him in Lexington.

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Kentucky Basketball Receives Prediction to Land International Star Nikola Kusturica

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4 weeks ago

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June 17, 2026

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Kentucky basketball has taken over as the favorite for Serbian star Nikola Kusturica, a projected lottery pick in 2028, with a prediction backing the Wildcats.

Just when many believed Kentucky’s roster was complete in terms of contributing players, Mark Pope might have an ace up his sleeve.

Last week, it was reported that Kentucky was among the frontrunners to land 6-foot-8 Serbian wing Nikola Kusturica. At the time, Gonzaga was thought to be the team to beat, having a more defined role to offer, compared to Kentucky, who has one remaining roster spot and a good amount of depth in wing positions.

Since then, things have shifted in a big way.

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Gonzaga received a commitment from 18-year-old French guard Juwan Ekanga-Ehawa on Sunday. By Tuesday night, the Wildcats received a Crystal Ball prediction from 247Sports’ Travis Branham to land Kusturica, with a confidence level of 7 out of 10.

The 6-foot-8 wing currently plays for FC Barcelona in Spain’s Liga ACB and EuroLeague system. He just turned 17 years old and is reportedly seeking a two-year college opportunity before becoming draft-eligible in 2028, where he is already being projected as a lottery pick.

The on-court résumé speaks for itself. In the 2025 FIBA U16 EuroBasket, he averaged 20 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game while leading Serbia to a championship and was named tournament MVP. He also helped Barcelona capture the Adidas NextGen Finals championship last month, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds in the title game against Real Madrid.

Next, Kusturica will represent Serbia in the FIBA U17 World Cup from June 27 to July 5, and a college decision could come before then.

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Mark Pope is carrying a lot of momentum in recent weeks after retaining Malachi Moreno and adding Milan Momcilovic to this season’s roster, as well as landing the first top 10 prospect of his career in Ryan Hampton. If he can close on Kusturica, that would cap off the roster in a significant way and continue to change the narrative around his recruiting ability.

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Kentucky Earns Commitment From No. 6 Prospect in 2027 Class Ryan Hampton

Published

1 month ago

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June 7, 2026

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Photo via UK Athletics


How about a Sunday boom in the recruiting world for you BBN? 

Ryan Hampton, the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2027 class, has officially committed to the University of Kentucky! This is Mark Pope’s first top-10 prospect that he’s earned a commitment from.

Hailing from Rockwall, Texas, Hampton recently took an official visit to campus with his family, which began on Friday, June 5 and spilled into Sunday, June 7, his commitment day. 

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The five-star wing averaged 21.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game during the most recent EYBL Circuit, playing for LivOn and Nightrydas.

Hampton was the first recruit in the 2027 to officially visit with the Wildcats, and now he’s the first to call their shot early and choose the blue and white. 

Pope has signed Milan Momcilovic, the No. 2 ranked transfer, and Hampton, his first top-10 high school prospect just in the past week.

It’s been a crazy week for recruiting, with the narrative around Pope’s ability slowing fading as the top guys continue to be attracted to the Kentucky brand. 

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