Jordan Burks (Vicky Graff Photo)
Filling out a complete roster in April is not an easy task for Kentucky coach Mark Pope.
Freshman Jordan Burks’ announcement that he’s going into the transfer portal likely means there will not be one player who played for coach John Calipari during the 2023-24 season on Pope’s first roster at UK.
Sophomore Adou Thiero does have UK as one of the final five schools on his list after putting his name into both the transfer portal and NBA draft earlier but it seems unlikely he will return.
Kentucky Mr. Basketball Travis Perry of Lyon County is firm in his commitment to join the Cats and former BYU commit Collin Chandler has flipped to Kentucky. But the two guards currently are the only two players on UK’s 2024-25 roster.
More players could still enter the transfer portal in the next few days to give Pope more options.
One target played against UK last season. Jones Aidoo averaged 11.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last season for Tennessee. He’s a strong, physical post player who had 22 points, 19 rebounds and eight blocked shots in two games against UK.
He’s played three seasons for Rick Barnes at Tennessee but apparently is looking for a bigger role and more NIL dollars.
The 6-11 Aidoo shot 51.5 percent from the field but is not a 3-point threat. However, Baylor continues to be reported as the leader for Aidoo.
Another potential Kentucky target, Duke guard Jeremy Roach, is also trending toward Baylor and coach Scott Drew, the first coaching candidate that UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart targeted when Calipari left.
However, plenty of other players have been contacted by Pope and likely more will be as more players enter the portal.
10 Responses
Is this the weekend the training wheels start to be removed from the Pope mobile? Hopefully it will start a string of connections for UK. They hype, speculation, history, philosophy, mass contacting etc. will start fading from the radar screen. It would also be great if the Baseball team could close out UT with a series win!!
Was hoping Burks would stay.
Very surprised he didn’t carry any weight, at least so far, with any of current commits. Guess they were not here for the name on the jersey, and if that the case, good riddance.
Me TOO!
Sounding like we are in pretty good shape with Williams. Always wonder why these kids that really know they are coming can’t pull the plug on Sat. night on Sun morning. Also wondering why things so quiet on his buddy that either visited or met with Pope on Friday. Seemed like they were being set-up as a 2 fer.
Any player who played (or mostly sat on the bench while favorites were given the minutes) in Rupp Arena & then saw the welcome Mark Pope received, yet does not want to play for UK is doing us a favor by leaving. We don’t need anymore players who have no interest in winning games for UK. They become selfish dead weight & do not contribute to the TEAM concept.
I wanted Big Z, Burks & Thiero (& UGO, but he’s going pro) to stay at UK. If they don’t want to be a part of rebuilding this great program, we wish you well and thank you for being honest about your desires.
I agree, I was hoping that at least guys like Thiero and Burks would see fit to return for another year, and maybe even Ugonna too, but more so those first two, because they werent NBA-ready at this point. And Pope could sure use one of those two back next year, or both, as a starting building block for his new team. Not only veterans, but two guys who already know what playing at KY is like, and two pieces to have right away that u know u can count on to start building your new team around. This is an example of where the "CAL way of thinking" still carries most of the weight with the players that he coached–their minds are still programmed first and foremost by everything they learned from CAL, as far as what they should do with their future. Pope is going to deliver to them an entirely different message and completely different life advice than what they’ve heard from CAL. So it all just depends on each individual and how they feel on their own about themselves and and what they really want out of their careers. And also, which coach’s advice and mentality is going to carry the most weight with them. Personally, I think this is the main reason that we aren’t going to see any one of CAL’s remaining players or recruits, except for Perry, remain on next year’s team. Pope isn’t going to tell these kids what they WANT to hear like CAL does–instead, (shame on Pope), he’s going to give them the full, unvarnished truth–whatever that may be. CAL recruits aren’t used to being dealt with that way–they are probably going to be told things they have never heard before, in their lives, so it’s probably really going to throw them off, or more so, TURN them off, and i think that’s what is already happening. "What do u mean, im going to have to work hard to earn what I get, can’t u just stamp my NBA draft card now, and let me go?" "⁸What do u mean that we are playing for the tradition and history of UK BBALL–we have never been told anything Abt any of that or know anything Abt any of it"……..the fact that there hasn’t been yet one remaining player or recruit decide to stay and give Pope a chance really puts into perspective how far off the path CAL has gotten over the years from what playing at UK is all about. The fact the only one who HAS stayed is Perry is further evidence of that! CAL was no longer selling playing for the name on the front of the jersey–and I know it’s a different day and age now with players getting paid–but its not like that u have to stay with John Calipari to get the best deal or make the most money–remember he is at ARK now and we are KY!!! And thats exactly where this program has gotten twisted out of its proper context with CAL and with the fans throughout the last several years–over time, CAL grew to believe that he was bigger than KY, and he brainwashed a large segment of the fanbase into believing that same thing, so that resulted in a dividing of the fanbase that had nvr happened before. There are a segment of fans who believe we no longer can recruit good enough players to KY without John Calipari. There are a segment of fans who believe there is no one else capable of handling this job besides John Calipari. To those fans, I once again say, open up your UK history books and take a look at a program that has been up and running and successful for 120 years now…….most of our coaches at the time they were hired had come from humble beginnings in their head coaching careers, as far as level of programs they were at, and yes, 3 of them had already made a Final 4 somewhere else prior–CAL, Pitino, and Sutton–but another one, like Mark Pope, was an ex-Wildcat-player with head coaching experience at only very small schools out west, but came back to KY and built his future head coaching career here by studying as an asst for 7 yrs under the Godfather of the program– Adolph Rupp–who, btw, came to KY as just an unknown high school coach from Freeport, IL. Joe B Hall was tasked with following the greatest with little to no head coaching experience whatsoever, but it was his recruiting as Rupp’s assistant the last 7 yrs of Rupp ‘s career here that more so prepared him for the job more than anything else. Then Tubby was also tasked with following a legend, and he had only coached at Tulsa and GA and had no Final 4s on his resume, but people forget he was part of the first assistant coaching team for Pitino when Pitino took over the rebuilding project at KY. The failed Gillispie experiment is the one exception in all of this, and I still believe had his TX A&M team not upset UofLin the second rd of that NCAA Tournament that spring, that Gillispie would have never been offered the job here. But that’s water under the bridge now. Now today, Pope is the next one in line at UK tasked with following a legend–we have been in this situation before, and success has always followed–we just may have to be patient for awhile to allow him TIME. He’s gonna have to have at least just one "wash"year just to get the rebuild off the ground. Remember, this year he’s having to face losing a whole roster because of the previous coach telling them all they’re all ready for the NBA–he basically has to replace a whole team and start all over AGAIN, just because that’s the way the last coach likes to do it. Oh, but for the CAL lovers, it was ok if HE was the one doing it. And he didn’t have to win any tournament games either–he got a free pass on that–as long as he got those 5 McDonalds All Americans and #1 recruiting classes every year, that was all that mattered. The CAL lovers didn’t demand him to win with that. But they will expect Pope to do it with a brand new roster that won’t have 5 McDonalds All Americans on it and won’t be the #1 recruiting class in America. They will expect him to win not only the first and 2nd rds, but to make a Final 4 in his very first year, with a team that on paper probably won’t have all the same talent as some of the best classes under CAL. But CAL could lose in the first Rd to a 15 seed with that #1 class, but ahh that was ok. The CAL lovers were ok with that. They would rather have #1 recruiting classes and a complete moron lunatic for a coach who couldn’t coach his way out of a wet paper bag, much less the first game of the SEC or NCAA tournaments. But let Pope lose there next year with a brand new team rebuilding from the Fraud’s devastation left behind, oh they’ll be ready to nail him to the cross. U gotta give this guy at least the first year because this time next year he won’t have to be replacing an entire roster that wants to punch their NBA ticket because the previous coach told them they should do so. He will have had a year to make his own mark, and will have some guys who might be ready to come back for another year, then that’s when u start building the continuity back in this program again, which is one of the things it so badly needs. If this were the old days, the whole season next year would be house money for Mark. It will be house money in my eyes for me personally. But we live in a "u have to win for me right now, and damn the circumstances u gotta deal with to get there" society today, unfortunately…….back to the original point on Pope: we have had 120 yrs worth of bball with 23 coaches, and 8 of them in the last 100, and 5 of them have won championships 8 times with almost 20 Final Fours. They have all had diff resumes, some with more success and more experience than others. But with the exception of one, they all have won, and won big, and won championships, and made Final 4s, and 4 of them have their jerseys in the rafters. And sometime within the next 10 to 15 yrs, #5 will have his jersey sent to the rafters as well, deservedly so. But until Pope, there was only one coach after Adolph Rupp who actually played at KY and won a championship at KY–his name was Joe B Hall–and he took on and succeeded in the toughest job in the history of sports: following one of the all-time greats in the history of sports and a living legend at the school–and thats what Pope is about to do: and this hire reminds me alot of the Joe B hire. Pope is in a very similar situation. And I really feel for him because, again, like with Hall, there are going to be some people who will be against him because he had the nerve to come in and replace their precious CAL!!! There were ppl who wanted Joe B out in his early yrs because they didn’t like the way he was doing things in comparison to Rupp. And the same will happen with Pope sadly enough, unless he pulls a Tubby and wins a championship in his very first year! This is where true actual "coaching" is going to come into play for the first time next year. We may not have the 5 of the top 12 players in America next year, but I would be willing to bet, wins and losses aside, whatever kind of team Pope does put together, he is going to get the very very most out of his guys on the court, effort-wise, and they will show a passion for playing the game, and u will see great execution of game planning and game strategies due to the team being prepared because the coach has the team prepared and has HIMSELF and his staff prepared. You will see a level of bball IQ and understanding/execution of game X’s and O’s that we haven’t seen in a very long time. We are going to see alot of new things that we haven’t seen in a long time–hopefully one of them can be just winning one game each in the SEC and NCAA tournaments!!! Unlike CAL lovers, who have become out of touch with reality, year 1 for Mark Pope should be house money, because the bar has been set so low by the Oh Mighty Great Callie that just one win each in the SEC and NCAA tournaments is all Pope has to achieve to go further than CAL–beating a 14 or a 15 seed in the tournament is all Pope has to do to go further than CAL, and just winning 10 reg season games in his first year would be a 1-game improvement over CAL’s 9-16 worst reg season in the history of KY BBALL served up just 3 short years ago!!! So don’t worry Mark Pope–dont worry about the haters buddy–because u don’t have to do very much early on to prove u have earned the job–and anybody who gets mad at u for turning in results like the last 4 yrs are just hypocrites, because they were willing to accept those kind of results from the previous administration! But win, lose, records, and results aside–u know why we love u, Mark Pope? Because u are ONE OF US. and u understand, accept, and EMBRACE the huge expectations of the program. They are an honor and a privilege to u, and u have let us know that. U don’t run from them like the previous coach, u don’t live in denial Abt them, u accept them, and u are going to be willing to take accountability for them. U are not going to dodge them. And BECAUSE u are one of us, who is going to work harder at this job than u? Who is going to have more passion for this job than u? Who is going to put in more blood, sweat, and tears on this job than u are? Who is going to enjoy it more, and understand the pressure more, and wear the job as a badge of honor more than u? Who could we, the fans, trust more or feel better about the program being in the hands of, than Mark Pope, a national champion, somebody who gave his all on the court as a player, and a coach who is going to be about no talk, and all action, and take accountability and responsibility for the seat he is in, and who is going to represent that seat with INTEGRITY, HONESTY, and a realness and genuineness that was lacking by the previous coach, and quite frankly, would lack in alot of other coaches these days. Scott Drew and Danny Hurley neither one would have received the Rupp Arena welcome that Pope received. It’s just something different and something priceless when it’s one of your own coming home to take over, and that was on full display last Sun, esp with the show of support from a group of ex-Wildcats from multiple generations’ worth of players and teams. UK is BACK to BEING UK AGAIN–and I know honoring and celebrating your past history doesn’t automatically equal wins going fwd in the future–but at the same time tho, I also have to say what do u think is the purpose of that 120- year history? Its that common thread of support from and to multiple generations’ worth of players that has kept and sustained this program for 120 yrs, and made it what it is today, and always has been. The foundation has always been laid by someone before for the next guy to come in and take over. So now, Mark Pope, it’s your turn. And we salute you and thank you, just as those players on that bus did, and that’s what Sun was all about–showing the world that no one coach is EVER bigger than UK or BBN, and showing the world that UK is BACK!! and that it’s ABOUT UK again! This guy is just the antithesis of the previous coach–he not only gets the significance of re-establishing the "brand" that is UK, but also brings back class, humility, and respect to this program–three things that had been missing around here for a long time. So Coach, we salute u for that, and for bringing back the brand that is UK, and for making it "ABOUT UK" again. Notice what he said at the press conf–that it’s not "about these kids" or that it’s not "their team" or even "my team"—it is OUR TEAM!!! IT IS BBN’S TEAM—its all of us man–players, coaches, fans, media–its all of us–BBN is a community–it’s everybody in the whole state. These are things that were forgotten or abandoned by the previous coach–but Coach Pope gets it. So thank you to Coach Pope for coming back here and restarting our program once again, and re-energizing it–it has been laying on life support for quite some time, so thanks to u for bringing it back to life for us, and for making it about UK and BBN again!!!! And again, don’t let the haters away you, and I know you won’t, and I know u aren’t going to even approach it this way, but it’s going to be very hard to continue setting record lows that are lower than the ones that have already been set the last 4 yrs. So just remember that whenever the haters come out after u, and they will, that we have already experienced our two worst NCAA tournament losses in school history, and our worst reg season record in school history, and the worst 5-yr stretch in school history in overall postseason play for both tournaments, and the longest drought in school history without any SEC tournament wins. And that’s only SCRATCHING THE SURFACE of the many new record lows set during the last 5 yrs by the previous coach. So when the haters come out, just remember to remind them: can it get any worse than it has just got through being the past 5 yrs by the previous coach?
Things will happen fast coming up the end of the month. This made Pope the right guy all the way. Even if Donovan was interested, there would not have been time to reach out to the portal kids. We could end up with a very competitive team or may wind up with more walkons than scholarship players. Either way, it was time to make the change and move on.
Pope signed Williams to UK! A 6’10", 265 lb. Defensive Player of the Year X 3! If he can sign Osobor (6’8", 250) we will have defensive presence that we haven’t had since AD. These 2 guys would allow Pope to have a 3 guard offense that would be lethal from 3, while owning the paint!
Everyone…just a couple of reminders…the cuppard is bare just like it was when Pitino took over the program…it will get better as Coach Pope establishes himself as the HC of Kentucky(just as it did with Pitino)…additionally(just as Pitino did), he has surrounded himself with an excellent coaching staff…we must give everyone
time to get oriented as a coaching team and then we’ll start to see progress with recruiting, player selection & development and winning consistently…this will take a year or two..Coach Pope and the staff will establish a winning culture and we’ll all be the better for it…(as a side note , I feel sorry for the folks in Arkansas because they’re about to experience the “Calipari Effect” they we did for 15 years)…I wonder if they will have the patience or will to put with him for as long as we did?…it should be noted that they didn’t give him a lifetime contract (smart)…Onward and Upward BBN!!