Everyone Mark Pope watched on day one of EYBL Session III in Indianapolis

Things are a little bit different here in Indianapolis at the start of Nike EYBL Session III, the first live period of Mark Pope’s career as Kentucky‘s head coach. Under John Calipari, you could pretty safely assume the staff was hitting the top 25 of each recruiting class, going right down the list of players to watch and interview knowing there was probably some form of mutual interest with the Wildcats. And the coaches would spread across courts, but typically all under the same roof, and even more usually sitting side-by-side — Calipari was a fan of rolling four-deep into gyms to show recruits he was all in on them.

Under Pope? Well, let’s just start by talking about where each coach was on day one. The new Kentucky head coach was joined by assistant coach Jason Hart as the lone duo in Indianapolis for EYBL, while associate head coach Alvin Brooks III was in Wichita, KS at the NXTPRO Circuit with Puma. Elsewhere, assistant coach Cody Fueger was in Bryan, TX for the 3SSB Circuit with Adidas.

Dividing and conquering across the country, evaluating kids of all age groups and talent levels, searching far and wide for the right fits for Pope’s system in Lexington.

Nothing wrong with either approach, just different.

KSR had boots on the ground in Indianapolis following around Pope and Hart throughout the morning with a few other eyes and ears in Wichita and Bryan keeping an eye on the other staffers. Who was Kentucky watching to open the live period? Take a look at the running list below.

5-star SF AJ Dybantsa (No. 1)

• 6-8, 185 lbs
• Prolific Prep
• Needham, MA

Kentucky’s Mark Pope and Jason Hart are in for ‘25 No. 1 AJ Dybantsa and ‘26 No. 1 Tyran Stokes vs. ‘25 top-10 Darius Acuff pic.twitter.com/BexRihGhOC

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) May 18, 2024

5-star PF Cameron Boozer (No. 2)

• 6-9, 205 lbs
• Christopher Columbus HS
• Miami, FL

5-star PF Caleb Wilson (No. 4)

• 6-9, 195 lbs
• Holy Innocents Episcopal School
• Atlanta, GA

Mark Pope makes his Live Period debut as Kentucky’s head coach

Starting off watching the Boozer Twins and Caleb Wilson vs. Jerry Easter in game one here in Indianapolis pic.twitter.com/dimxKa0Epf

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) May 17, 2024

5-star PG Darius Acuff (No. 7)

• 6-1, 175 lbs
• IMG Academy
• Detroit, MI

5-star CG Jasper Johnson (No. 10)

• 6-4, 170 lbs
• Link Academy
• Lexington, KY

Mark Pope now courtside with Jason Hart for Jasper Johnson https://t.co/eY0ZiSevpU pic.twitter.com/TtoNNspbUo

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) May 17, 2024

4-star PG Cayden Boozer (No. 16)

• 6-3, 190 lbs
• Christopher Columbus HS
• Miami, FL

4-star SG Hudson Greer (No. 22)

• 6-6, 185 lbs
• Montverde Academy
• Austin, TX

Mark Pope and Jamie Shaw courtside for 2025 four-stars Hudson Greer and Shelton Henderson pic.twitter.com/DQIClbSZKe

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) May 17, 2024

4-star SF Tounde Yessoufou (No. 24)

• 6-6, 210 lbs
• St. Joseph
• Santa Maria, CA

Kentucky’s Mark Pope and Jason Hart are in for 2025 top-25 prospect Tounde Yessoufou

Physically gifted wing out of California, ranked No. 16 overall by @On3Recruits

— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) May 18, 2024

4-star CG Jerry Easter (No. 27)

• 6-4, 185 lbs
• La Lumiere School
• Toledo, OH

4-star SF Shelton Henderson (No. 49)

• 6-6, 210 lbs
• Bellaire
• Houston, TX