KSR Today: Pope Roster and Staff Watch Continues, Murray over AD for the Win
There are no University of Kentucky sporting events today, but it’s still an insanely busy time for programs across the board. Both the men’s and women’s basketball programs are undergoing serious roster construction under new head coaches, and the football team is also surveying its prospects in the transfer portal. Mark Pope may be hosting and visiting recruits today, proof that he’s not slowing down in his second week on the job; good thing he’s got a growing staff to help him out. There could even be breaking news on that today.
So, lots to cover in today’s rundown. We’ve even got a little Cat-on-Cat crime to discuss in the NBA Playoffs.
News is rolling out of the Joe Craft Center
On Monday, many of the roster and staff additions from last week became official. Kentucky announced the signing of Collin Chandler, a former top-40 recruit in the 2020 class who’s been on a two-year mission. Chandler originally signed with BYU but will now follow Mark Pope to Lexington.
The program also announced the additions of Cody Fueger and Jason Hart as assistant coaches. Fueger (pronounced FEE-gurr) has been with Pope since 2013, while Hart comes to Kentucky from the G League, where he was the head coach of the G League Ignite, developing talents like Jaden Hardy, Scoot Henderson, Matas Buzelis, and Ron Holland. The G League Ignite program was recently shut down so Hart will bring his talents to Lexington instead.
Who will be Pope’s third on-court recruiting assistant? There was news on that too. Baylor associate head coach Alvin Brooks III is expected to join Kentucky’s staff, sources tell KSR. Brooks just finished his eighth season at BYU under Scott Drew and is considered one of the top recruiters in the nation, reeling in prospects like VJ Edgecombe, Ja’Kobe Walter, and Keyonte George. There’s a Kentucky tie here too: Brooks is the son of current Lamar head coach Alvin Brooks, who served as a director of operations under Billy Gillispie from 2007-09.
Finally, it didn’t come with a press release, but there was more good news last night from Travis Perry, who confirmed he is locked in with Pope and the Cats:
About an hour before Perry’s tweet, the Kentucky Men’s Basketball Twitter account sent these clips of the 1996 team and Pope doing the “Who’s in the house tonight? UK!” cheer. Is it basketball’s version of Yahtzee? Either way, I’m here for the throwback.
Will another former Calipari recruit join him? We could find out today…
Who’s next?
BYU transfer guard Richie Saunders took his official visit to campus on Monday. No reports on how that went just yet, but he’s the first of many visitors expected in town this week. Matt Norlander reported on Monday that Pope is expected to host official visitors each day this week, possibly into the weekend. That guest list could include Great Osobor and Koby Brea, who included Kentucky in his list of five schools on Monday.
Today, Pope will also hit the road (sky?) to see five-star forward Jayden Quaintance, who originally signed with Kentucky but reopened his recruitment when Calipari left for Arkansas. Quaintance is still considering Arkansas, along with Louisville, Missouri, Florida, Memphis, and apparently Kentucky if today’s visit goes well. Maybe some of Pope’s new staff can help him convince Quaintance to stay on board.
Here’s the roster tracker as it stands right now. Hopefully, some more updates will throw it into chaos shortly.
We’ll be sharing the news as it rolls out on the site and whatever rumblings and behind-the-scenes scoop we hear on KSBoard. There’s never been a better time to try it out, so take advantage of our $1 for 1 month (new subscribers only) offer and hop on board.
Learn about Kentucky commit Amari Williams
On Sunday night, Drexel transfer Amari Williams committed to Kentucky, which has been a bit overshadowed by a newsy Monday. Brandon Ramsey broke down Williams’ tape in both written and visual form on Monday, the latter with the help of Steven Peake. Hit play below as the two tell you about the three-time CAA Defensive Player of the Year and how he’ll fit into Mark Pope’s system at Kentucky.
I can’t stop thinking about the Pope/Cal/Tubby meeting
As if he weren’t busy enough, Mark Pope also made the media rounds yesterday, chatting with both Paul Finebaum and Jim Rome. We’ve heard a lot of the remarks below — although they never get old — but there was one new story Pope told that raised eyebrows across the Big Blue Nation. Pope told Finebaum that he ran into John Calipari and Tubby Smith in the coaches’ hotel at the Final Four the Saturday morning before Calipari took the Arkansas job and the trio even gathered for a picture. What?!
Pope said he didn’t think any of the three knew what would unfold in the next 24-96 hours but according to The Athletic, Calipari was offered the Arkansas job Friday night and had the term sheet by Saturday morning to think things over. How crazy is it that while he was mulling his future plans over, he talked to not only Tubby, who left the program for Minnesota years before but Pope, who would replace him? We need that photo, Mark!
I also really enjoyed Pope’s comments about boarding the bus of former Kentucky players to ride into Rupp to recreate the 1996 national championship celebration. Hearing the new leader of the Cats pay respect to all those who came before and after him is really neat. He gets it. You can see the entire interview below.
We have a new Pope Anthem
“Reed and Rob” are off to the NBA, but there’s a new fan song making the rounds in BBN. Check out “Pope” by MIRAAGE, which pays tribute to, duh, Mark Pope, and the ’96 team. If you had told me even a month ago Kentucky fans would be rapping about Wayne Turner and Derek Anderson, I’m not sure I would have believed you. Wild times, these are.
No Midweek Baseball
Tuesdays usually mean Kentucky Baseball, but the Bat Cats get some added rest this week coming off the series vs. Tennessee. The two losses to the Vols only cost the Cats one spot in the D1 Baseball Rankings. They’re now No. 4 behind Texas A&M (No. 1), Arkansas (No. 2), and Tennessee (No. 3). This weekend, they travel to No. 24 South Carolina for a three-game series.
Jamal Murray hit a game-winner over Anthony Davis
Finally, it was a big night for former Cats in the NBA Playoffs. Jamal Murray hit a game-winner over Anthony Davis to give the Nuggets the 101-99 win and a 2-0 lead in the series. The stepback jumper capped off a 20-point comeback and resulted in the Nuggets’ 10th straight win over the Lakers. Murray didn’t even see it go in.
“I just lost my balance and fell. I think A.D. was in my way or somebody was in my way and I just heard everybody scream and that’s how I knew it went in,” he told reporters after.
Even more amazing is the game-winner came on a shaky shooting night for Murray, who finished with 20 points on 9-24 from the floor, 0-5 from three-point land. Davis led all scorers with 32 points and 11 rebounds.
Elsewhere in the NBA Playoffs, Cleveland beat Orlando to take a 2-0 lead and the Knicks beat Tyrese Maxey and the 76ers to move to 2-0 in that series. Here’s what’s on tap tonight:
- 7:30 PM ET (TNT): Phoenix (Devin Booker) at Minnesota (Karl-Anthony Towns) – MIN leads 1-0
- 8:30 PM ET (NBATV): Indiana (Isaiah Jackson) at Milwaukee (Chris Livingston) – MIL leads 1-0
- 10:00 PM (TNT): Dallas (PJ Washington) at LA Clippers (BJ Boston) – LAC leads 1-0
One more look at that game-winner:
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