You know what would make that make rational sense? If Cal started recruiting worse when the NIL period began because he didn't have the resources Duke has, and then he was landing players anyway Kentucky shouldn't have landed because he was putting guys in the NBA.
Then Cal bolted to somewhere he has better resources to build a roster (still not stellar) sending Kentucky to a position where not only do they not have the NIL their traditional rivals do, but they have to overpay the guys they DO get just to come play at Kentucky.
And to make it worse, it seems everyone in basketball media, whether on the UK beat or not, is gaslighting and lying to Kentucky about the reality of the situation they find themselves in as if mediocre results would somehow not reveal all of them to be charlatans and liars.
It's clear why it's going on. There is a TON of money in keeping Kentucky fans engaged in Kentucky Basketball. But it's also hubris that will backfire spectacularly. Just leveling with fans is the smartest approach, but you see few coaches taking it. I think, depsite himself, Mark has. He's mentioned several times that he just doesn't have the resources other SEC teams do.