ESPN recruiting director Paul Biancardi knows NIL changes the way Mark Pope will recruit at Kentucky. (UK Athletics Photo)
ESPN recruiting director/basketball analyst Paul Biancardi likes what he’s seen from new Kentucky coach Mark Pope’s recruiting strategy.
“Every coach recruits to their personal liking. Not every coach goes after one-and-done players. Some are comfortable recruiting, coaching and developing talent,” Biancardi said. “Others want highly recruited players to mix with a returning group and transfers.
“Every coach loves retaining players but that’s just not the way it is any more. You don’t know if a player is unhappy with his role or if it is NIL but there is no guarantee of retention. That’s why the transfer portal and high school recruiting is so important. Pope is different from (John) Calipari who is different from (Tom) Izzo. Everybody is different.”
Biancardi knows the “market price” for players is escalating due to NIL.
“Players and families can ask for more if they feel they deserve it and it is up to universities to decide how much money to give out. You can lose a player due to NIL or maybe get a player you would not normally get because of NIL,” Biancardi said. “NIL has leveled the playing field to some degree. Blue bloods still recruit off tradition but you still have to be competitive in the NIL world.
“This is a business. Guys who do not show promise and work may not have NIL for a second season. It’s a lot for parents to comprehend when people are offering so much money. That’s why it is important for a recruit to go to the right coach and right program. You should not make a decision just on money but a lot do. It is causing chaos for everyone.”
12 Responses
Yea recruit and develop is dead in college basketball. I’ve always been a firm believer in getting a honest assumption by the coaching staffs. They should tell a player if they think the guy will get some playing time or.not get playing time. You can say well a player might work his way into the rotation and that does happen but not nearly as much now that you are expected to win from day one with the transfer portal and nil. If you are honest with a kid and say hey maybe you should go to a smaller school for a year or 2 were you will probably get quality minutes and get some experience actually playing instead of just practicing. That helps a player reach their full potential faster. If they play great at Murray State or Morehead state or a school similar to them, they start and average the right amount of points and on video do.everything that you like for a player to do they can always transfer back and then crack the rotation. I know if Kentucky offered me and said work your tail off for 2-3 years and you will probably get some valuable minutes and eastern Kentucky said we need you to fill a starting role as a freshman in going to eastern for a year or 2 and work my ass off to show everyone how great I am. High school is very hard to really tell how good you are. Look at DJ Wagner I’ve been hearing about him for 4 years that’s hes the next prodigy in basketball and Bradshaw was the same way. 2 top 5 players that were preseason lottery picks and came to the best college in basketball with the deepest fan base and couldn’t get it done. Really they shouldn’t be expected to get it done they were freaking 18 years old. This what happens when you are overrated coming out of high school. 30 years ago they would have been considered sensational freshman. Nowadays they get ridiculed because some 55 year old man that eats donuts and drinks coffee all day thinks that they are the greatest high school talent in the world. Usually the top 50 guys are evaluated by a ton of different people that’s why I like the composition ranking more than one services opinion. You get a better idea of who they are. I’m going to be honest I never seen anything from Bradshaw that really stood out. I thought he was highly overrated. Wagner was a little different because everyone thought he was a one and done and possible top 5 pick. I called it last summer and said dillingham was much better than Wagner but Dillingham would have been better suited at North Carolina State. I think if he would have went there he would have had a coach that would have made him run plays not just run around and play street ball. Also North Carolina State would have probably won the championship if they would have had dillingham they were one scorer away from a chip. Some people think a 5* high school kid is better than a 4* college transfer and that’s wrong 9 times out of 10. The difference between college and high school is a giant margin. Even junior college competition ie better than high school. Not when you get the extra covid year and these college kids get 5 years. They improve more from there 4th year going into their 5th year more than their 3rd going into their 4th. I forgot the guys name he did a article on college players production on year 4 compared to year 5. It was incredible how much each player improves so much with that extra year. Look at Knect from Tennessee. To me he was the best player in college last year he literally put Tennessee on his back in multiple games and carried them. Now we have 7? 5th year guys. We are going to be so much better than advertised. These guys knew last year they had another year. Players usually work their hardest when they know its the final countdown. I promise you this we will win more than 25 games easily. Louisville is going to be very good this year too. Finally some instate competition. I think Kentucky is easily a final 4 team and you will see what I mean when they hit the hardwood. That dude Evan Miyaka or however you spell it his rankings are the worst I’ve ever seen. He has Aly Khlaifa that played for Pope last year as a top 20 recruit. He’s insane and had Jaxson Robinson 88th? But Khalifa 17th? Lol his metric system doesn’t hold water.
The NCAA’s leadership void over the last several decades has been the primary factor that led to the transfer portal and NIL.
With all of the litigation against the NCAA, they have abandoned their governing role and let NIL and the portal create a wild west atmosphere in what used to be amateur college sports. College presidents and/or regents will have to come together to create a new governing body that acknowledges recent court rulings that say these athletes are employees of the university. There has to be a formula to allow for equitable compensation to all college athletes versus the sky is the limit for the 5 star kids.
New guidelines will have to be developed setting limits on how much a school can pay to buy athletes and the transfer portal will require a complete reworking to bring a level of sanity back to college athletics. Transfers should be allowed with the first one not requiring a sitting out period and a second, and final transfer, that would require a one year waiting period to be eligible to practice or play. This is the only way the small and mid major schools can survive.
With that being said, Jamie Vinson has committed to Texas. Who will get our last scholarship? I would hope it will go to player who has at least 2 years of eligibility left to build the next team after the seniors and super seniors leave, preferable a power forward or center. The Burke kid from UCLA is still available, but like Vinson, I think he will want to sign with a team that will afford him major minutes versus being a role player. Maybe there is a high school senior who has potential but needs time to develop? Any names?
I believe the courts have already stated that athletes, just as other students, can transfer anytime, anywhere, with no penalties from the NCAA or the Universities.
The schools will now have to decide if they want to do contracts with their athletes, just like many other employees.
It turns out that Vinson is an Austin, TX native, so, go figure, lol. Apparently, Mark is looking to offer no. 13 to a high school senior who is willing to redshirt. With that being said, it looks like this year’s team will have Carr at the 4, Williams at the 5 with Garrison seeing equal PT there, my guess is Oweh at the 3 with Almonor playing split minutes at the 3 & 4 spot, Brea at the 2 and Butler at the 1. That leaves Kriisa, Collin, Perry, and Noah battling for backup minutes at the 1 & 2 spots, although Noah could compete for PT at the 3 spot too. That makes for a solid team! They aren’t getting much love in the preseason rankings, but by mid December, we should be a very competitive team. They will move the ball, shoot well, rebound, and defend and will play hard as there are plenty of guys to provide relief without a drop in the level of play. I haven’t been this excited about Kentucky basketball since the Wisconsin debacle. Go CATS!!!!
Great comments by everyone! My entire family went to the initial Pope press conference. I told them it was going to be historic before we went. It sure was and then some! The nation and even some in our own fan base is about to find out how good Coach Pope is. We are back…and I love it! 💙🏀
Personally I consider the 10 loss threshold the barometer for a successful season. To go from 0 to 120MPH is no easy task.
If you think Pope will bring in championship caliber players you’re crazy. He got snuffed by a 3* recruit. How do you think he can bring in 5* recruits. Just because he got a portal team doesn’t mean anything. We had no team so why not go somewhere where you’re guaranteed playing time. Worst hire in UK basketball history!!!
How is he not bringing in championship caliber players. Their were over 2,000 transfer and we have 7 in the top 100 the only player with a terrible ranking was Alomor but he is going to be a great player off the bench. Probably the 8th or 9th guy but if you have players like him as your 9th guy your in a great position. Your assumption is crazy. He didn’t want that 3* PF he said he wanted to redshirt him and year and Texas said hop aboard the train and you can sit on the end of the bench and burn a year of playing time so he signed with Texas remember his name and watch him play this year and tell me what you think?
Joseph can you spell Billy Clyde ??
Obviously just having frosh didn’t work. Being flexible In recruiting approach is the way to go..Mark Pope can be that.
I have high hopes for Mark as our HC. He got started a bit late with the portal, but when you start with zero players, well, it is tough. For the past several years, I was very disappointed with the results under Cal. I am very sorry it had to end the way it did. We had some great times in the beginning, but over the years, it seems the intensity diminished and the will to win, from the coach, diminished. The last several years were by no way the standard of UK basketball even prior to Cal. We must give Mark a few years to succeed and show high schoolers that UK is THE place to come. I do believe that no other school loves their players like the BBN. And long long after they have gone on to a wonderful future. Initially I was so happy with NIL but it has now come down to whoever can pay the players the most money. It ALL comes down to money. So sad. Some sort of ceiling must be put into place, or just forget parity in college sports. Forever a Cat fan. GO BIG BLUE!