Calls Mount Against Mark Pope After NBA Insider Reveals Kentucky Wildcats’ Secret
It has been 11 years since Kentucky made a Final Four appearance. They came close this past season with a roster Mark Pope had to build from scratch, but with a new season and another try, the head coach is aiming for bigger success with a key ingredient. You see, when Pope arrived in Lexington last year, he received a massive welcome. No, we aren’t talking about the Rupp Arena mania where the arena filled to the brink. We are talking about the $4 million pledge the new head coach had received in NIL for recruitment.
After John Calipari had left with his squad, that was essential, and Pope put it to good use, bringing in nine new faces in about a month’s time. They made it to the Sweet 16, and the coach was erased of his ‘not-so-fine-recruiter’ reputation. “The most important thing we do is probably raising NIL money,” said Pope in his final season with BYU. “That’s just the job that’s been created for us in the last couple of years. I think that’s probably the most important thing we do.” And by the looks of it, the coach has been strategically awarded plenty for this season in Kentucky.
They seem to have a penchant for spreading the wealth instead of going all in with one or two big names. The program distributed its NIL across its roster. For instance, Denzel Aberdeen, who is one of the newest additions, is rumored to have received around $2 million, and he wasn’t even the biggest name the Wildcats pursued. And so basketball analyst, Jeff Goodman, took to X to make a revelation and wrote:
“I’m not sure anyone is gonna touch Kentucky’s NIL payroll this season … not even BYU.” That’s a huge claim, but it doesn’t end there. On Saturday, Goodman said, “Kentucky’s got a lot more money right now than Fl
