There was once a time when top high school recruits would have an easy no-brainer decision in choosing blue-blood school Kentucky. However, the Wildcats’ recruiting has been lagging these days with only one four-star commit so far. They do have a chance to have a taste of the good old days as Mark Pope gets ready to out the red carpet for No. 1 prospect Tyran Stokes.
Stokes, a Kentucky native, is set to drop by Lexington for his visit, with it being expected to happen ahead after the Nike Hoop Summit. With the hype of his visit, along with the incoming visit of BYU transfer portal point guard Rob Wright III, fans have taken to the streets of Lexington to urge these prospective players to choose the Wildcats.
Wildcats fans were spotted alongside a road with signs urging these recruits to choose the University of Kentucky, which has been struggling over the last few years and has not won a national title for a while now. In terms of NIL, the school has shown that they are willing to spend massive amounts of money, as they were one of the richest teams in NCAA basketball last season, but would this be enough to lure Tyran Stokes?
Currently, Mark Pope has only recruited four-star point guard Mason Williams from the Tennessee Collegiate Academy. The Wildcats are ranked No. 45 overall and have not fared as well in the transfer portal recruitment front either, even though Pope managed to retain a lot of players.
Tyran Stokes Speaks on Building Relationships With Kentucky Coaches
It was Tyran Stokes himself who revealed that he will be dropping by Lexington soon, saying in an interview with NBA.com that he will go to UK “anytime after Hoop Summit.” During that same interview, he also stated that he has been building relationships with Kentucky’s coaching staff and stated how important it is to know how they plan to use his skills.
“It’s a different kind of coaching staff since the last time I was on campus… just being able to go out there, talk to them, get to see what their plan is for me,” he said.
So far, Kentucky is locked in a battle with Kansas over who gets to have Stokes, who is ranked the No. 1 high school senior in the country. The Jayhawks are currently the favorite, but Mark Pope is making a late push and may change the odds.
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