Yaxel Lendeborg
- Thread starter ComebackCats98
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People mention the JMI deal hadn't been signed yet; true. Had he signed with UK , he would obviously have been a UK athlete when the JMI contract was later cemented meaning he would have to be privy to any changes in his contract that may occur in the future; at yaxels time of signing...
So we don't know many details; but the fact that the JMI deal was signed after Yaxels 'courtship' doesn't mean it had no effect; as I'm assuming he would've had to have been informed of any clauses... ( such as limiting NIL opportunities to a 'select few' brands/ company's in his near future).
I feel the need to state Pope is not the coach we need nor the coach I thought he was. Lackadaisical effort at any point demands a firm coachs hand; not Pope aparantly.
It could easily be Pope and JMI hindering our recruits, I just wanted to state facts that JMI could have also influenced Yaxel, regardless of having signed JMI after his decision was already made.
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Can you link those comments? I have only seen KSR folks speculate about that without really demonstrating any true understanding or evidence. But, I don’t keep my finger on the pulse of such things, so I probably missed it.
Thanks in advance for the anticipated links.
Well my guess is when Pope finally decides to talk to the media he is going to be asked and have to address this. If it’s not true, as I and most people suspect, a simple response involving a laugh and something along the lines of simply not accurate would be sufficient in my mind.
If Pope fumbles this by saying he doesn‘t publicly discuss NIL amounts, well the story will continue to linger and not in a good way.
Just to assist out the claim that national reporters have reported on JMI being an issue. This Sports Illustrated article by Wyatt Huff from back in December hints that talks with Collins were cooling (and they ended up being spot on) because Collins camp and JMI couldn't come to a deal despite Collins wanting to play here and having a strong family connection to Jason Hart. Doesn't spell it out and actually put blame squarely on JMI, just suggests that JMI is (was at the time) the last hurdle to signing Collins.
www.si.com
As noted previously, immediately after Collins opened back up his recruiting, he took a shot at the JMI when he signed his deal with Crocs saying that any NIL deal he made would be with a company he chose. (In reference to a "supposed" JMI clause requiring players to not go outside the BBNIL Suite for NIL deals).
Is Pope a problem in recruiting? Absolutely. Does it seem like JMI is for basketball? Absolutely. And most will continue to believe Pope and JMI are issues until UK signs a 5 star.
Is Kentucky losing momentum with a top prospect in the 2026 class?
Mark Pope has yet to land a big get on the recruiting trail, even just a 2026 commitment for that matter. By now, things were supposed to be much better than th
www.si.com
As noted previously, immediately after Collins opened back up his recruiting, he took a shot at the JMI when he signed his deal with Crocs saying that any NIL deal he made would be with a company he chose. (In reference to a "supposed" JMI clause requiring players to not go outside the BBNIL Suite for NIL deals).
Is Pope a problem in recruiting? Absolutely. Does it seem like JMI is for basketball? Absolutely. And most will continue to believe Pope and JMI are issues until UK signs a 5 star.
“University of Kentucky Basketball and Football beat writer.” Wyatt Huff is a national guy or because it is SI online it’s national? Nevertheless, I appreciate the link, even though it was not very insightful.Just to assist out the claim that national reporters have reported on JMI being an issue. This Sports Illustrated article by Wyatt Huff from back in December hints that talks with Collins were cooling (and they ended up being spot on) because Collins camp and JMI couldn't come to a deal despite Collins wanting to play here and having a strong family connection to Jason Hart. Doesn't spell it out and actually put blame squarely on JMI, just suggests that JMI is (was at the time) the last hurdle to signing Collins.
Is Kentucky losing momentum with a top prospect in the 2026 class?
Mark Pope has yet to land a big get on the recruiting trail, even just a 2026 commitment for that matter. By now, things were supposed to be much better than th
As noted previously, immediately after Collins opened back up his recruiting, he took a shot at the JMI when he signed his deal with Crocs saying that any NIL deal he made would be with a company he chose. (In reference to a "supposed" JMI clause requiring players to not go outside the BBNIL Suite for NIL deals).
Is Pope a problem in recruiting? Absolutely. Does it seem like JMI is for basketball? Absolutely. And most will continue to believe Pope and JMI are issues until UK signs a 5 star.
Huff offers nothing but a continuation of conjecture. Others have said Collins wants a top bidder and reopened his recruitment to maximize his income in a bidding war. The JMI talk has been just like Huff’s column. Ask questions that suggest a problem without any answers.
The fans here are all over the board. I do not know if it’s true, but they claim Pope is offering the biggest haul for Stokes but still might lose him. Then, others claim we cannot get recruits because JMI is limiting our offers.
This JMI thing is not a reported fact because I think most reporters just don’t know.
Did you say he should say “no comment?” Because I know I did not. I will assume you are an avid fan and not a PR specialist.
I don’t think talking NIL offers about guys on your team is a good idea and I certainly do not think getting in a pissing contest with a player who went elsewhere is a good idea. If I was representing a potential UK player, it would trouble me if the coach got into money details with the media with other players, on the team or off.
off the cuff, I might say, “We think the kid is a fantastic player with a wonderful future. He chose another school and we respect that decision. I do not publicly discuss private matters of NIL publicly. I won’t vary from that policy for any reason and I hope recruits and my players appreciate that approach. Next question.”
I agree. I linked that because SI is a national publication. Nobody else outside of specific UK centric reporters touched on JMI because they simply do not know and can only speculate with conjecture and try reading tea leaves. No one has access to the exact contract wording because UK is so tight lipped on it. Even people really close to the program don't know the details fully.
I'm close enough that I know our "offer" to Stokes is much higher than Kansas but most of that higher offer is on "potential" earnings and his camp wants guaranteed dollars in writing. He wants to play for Kansas with Kinney but their offer is low and pretty set in stone and not moving upwards. We are definitely a second choice from what little I do hear. But I'm not close enough to know anything more than that. I believe if we get Stokes, it'll simply be because we offered him enough money for him to not be able to say no. And if we lose him, it's either because Kansas (or someone else) was able to get close enough in NIL that taking a little less to play where he wants to go makes sense, OR because our offer continued to be "potential" earnings and not a concrete number and his camp just walks away.
If there hadn't of been an age limit, Cal wouldn't have had a lot of those players, nor Duke or several other schools. Like you say, they would have been NBA bound.
It might be but Pope hasn't proven that he could recruit either. It honestly doesn't seem like it's hurting Stein and the football program at all since he came aboard.
As I stated before there were TWO fools that day the one who offered that money and the fool who didn’t take it.
Oh I absolutely agree Pope isn’t the guy for here. As for the JMI deal, months ago Matt Jones said he thought players already at UK were sort of “grandfathered” into the old way of NIL. Regardless I’m positive the story is total bs for multiple reasons.
I totally agree with you. It is interesting that you can find out the salaries of all of the professors at UK but can’t find out what the players make.