Kentucky players share portal advice for potential transfers hearing from Mark Pope

The transfer portal opened this past week, leading to mass chaos in the college basketball world with the number of moving pieces hitting quadruple digits in a matter of days. That put Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats in a tough spot going into the Sweet 16 — along with everyone else making the second weekend — trying to balance winning now and roster-building for next season.

They received their first commitment from Tulane transfer Kam Williams just hours before the Tennessee matchup. Now, the staff is able to push all of its chips in on 2025-26, saying goodbye to a special group that made history in Lexington while saying hello to the next ready to build upon it.

That doesn’t mean the 2024-25 Wildcats are disappearing completely. In fact, they have some advice for the next generation of portal targets who may be receiving phone calls from Pope in the coming days and weeks.

You heard from Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr at the podium immediately after the loss, both sharing recruiting pitches for Kentucky.

“Can I say something? I think it’s really cool that we were able to set the culture for Pope’s first year,” Butler said. “And people have to come in and the bar is going to be set high for the next people who come under Pope. It’s gonna be fun to watch, for sure.”

“If you’re in the transfer portal and looking for a place to go, go to Kentucky,” Carr added. “I’ll tell you that much. Go to Kentucky.”

Why Kentucky? The other Wildcats took a trip down memory lane, looking back to their portal experiences this time a year ago and gave their best advice to players going through it now.

In short, if you have the opportunity to wear the blue and white, take it and don’t think twice.

“It’s a great tradition in college basketball, you know?” Ansley Almonor told KSR. “You’ll play for a great coach, great coaching staff and you’ll have the best fans in the world behind your back. It’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so don’t let it pass you by. Take advantage of it.”

“Coach Pope, man, he’s an amazing dude. Not just him, but the whole coaching staff, really,” Koby Brea added. “I mean, imagine — if this is what he can do in one year, imagine what he can do having some more time and more experience coaching here. It’s a no-brainer, in my opinion.

“I know for sure he changed my life and he’s done the same for this group. I know he can continue to do it. He’s only going to keep getting better from here on out.”

For Jaxson Robinson, his situation is unique. There was never a path for him landing anywhere other than Kentucky once Pope got the job — assuming he pulled his name out of the draft. That’s an unbreakable bond, guaranteed to see the process through with one another.

“I mean, I don’t even know where to start, to be honest with you,” he said of Pope. “He took a chance on me. Just being here in this locker room, around these guys, to have this jersey on, to be able to say I’ve played for University of Kentucky, I can’t thank anybody else but Mark Pope.

“I know this isn’t the end-all, be-all for our relationship — we’re still gonna talk on a daily basis. That’s my guy forever. Just looking back at all the memories we had, I can’t be more thankful.”

We know he’s biased, so what about his non-Pope advice? It’s all about the money for Robinson — or it shouldn’t be all about the money, rather.

That’s his biggest issue with the portal, guys going to the highest bidder rather than finding the best fit the way he did. They’re sacrificing long-term success for the short-term hit of a few hundred thousand dollars extra in their pockets.

“I wouldn’t say it’s just for the kids coming here, but just for everybody. I think a lot of kids are getting lost in just the dollar amount. I think it’s not really about that,” he told KSR. “It was a different situation for me, just because my coach came to the University of Kentucky. But just making sure you’re going where you know you’re going to fit in, you’re putting yourself in the right situation.

“That’s what’s most important, especially before the money. The money is always going to come after. As long as you’re producing, it all comes later on.”

Take their advice. Lexington is home.