The news about basketball on Monday was not good for Kentucky.
Boogie Fland resumed his recruiting, Zvonimir Ivisic moved to Arkansas, Aaron Bradshaw to Ohio State, D.J. Wagner to the transfer portal, and Ugonna Onyenso to the NBA Draft.
The bad news is that Fland could potentially leave Kentucky permanently, which would be devastating to the team’s fall recruiting class.
The fact that Bradshaw, Ivisic, Onyenso, and Wagner—assuming he doesn’t go back to Kentucky—will all be off the roster isn’t the best outcome either. Even though the four didn’t do much the previous season, they were expected to make a big impact in their second year at UK.
This also slightly puts pressure on newly hired head coach Mark Pope.
This puts some pressure on recently hired head coach Mark Pope, who will need to work twice as hard to fill positions on his staff and perform some magic through the transfer portal.
The Wildcats will have two Kentucky Mr. Basketball winners in their backcourt with Reed Sheppard and incoming freshman Travis Perry if — and this is a very big if — he returns.
Additionally, there is a remote chance that Adou Thiero will visit Lexington once more.
Aly Khalifa, the former big man for BYU, is anticipated to decide on a transfer soon, and Drexel Dragons forward Amari Williams will speak with Pope within the next week.
Kentucky is also interested in guards Javon Small of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, JaKobe Coles of TCU, David Coit of the Northern Illinois Huskies, and Koby Brea of the Dayton Flyers.
The top-60 players in the nation were listed by CBS Sports’ David Cobb on the transfer portal; several of these players seemed like excellent fits for the Pope system.
Although there is still much to be done, Pope’s passion for returning Kentucky to the promised land is evident, and supporters must adore that.
