Mark Pope says there are 29 targets on Kentucky's Big Board (which needs a new wheel)

So far, Kentucky has six players on the 2024-25 roster, three of whom have been added in the last three days. That leaves seven more spots to get to the magic number of 13. In his first interview on Kentucky Sports Radio, Mark Pope said that the staff has 29 players on its “big board” of targets at the Joe Craft Center, proof that the net has been cast much wider than media or fans realize.

“Our big board, right now, we’re actually working with 29 guys that we’ve really, really zeroed in on,” Pope said. “Every time somebody breaks a bit in our direction or maybe fades a little bit out of our direction, we do more research and more reconnaissance and hear more information about guys and how they’re built.

“I’m elated with where we are right now. We’ve got a ton of work to do. We feel like we’re really close in a lot of areas.”

When asked, Pope didn’t commit to Kentucky using all 13 scholarships, instead saying that they will only take the right pieces to the puzzle. The four core pieces — maybe we call them the corners? — are set. That’s likely the four most recent commitments, Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams. Junior forward Great Osobor is currently in Lexington for his official visit and sharpshooter Koby Brea is expected to arrive tomorrow. Saint Mary’s guard Aidan Mahaney visited over the weekend. Once this round of visits wraps, Pope wants to take a “surgical pause” to finish his staff and evaluate where things are before moving forward.

“I’ll give you an example of the way that we work,” Pope said. “So I knew that we had to put this stuff together really, really fast, okay? I kind of zeroed in on a shortlist of guys and ended up with actually the four guys that I was desperate to get. And then we’re taking a little pause. I have some more people to add to the staff but I need to take a little pause right now and just kind of see how our pieces are fitting together and then we’ll go lightspeed again.”

That’s where deadlines come in. May 1 is the deadline for players to enter the transfer portal, which could put a fresh batch of targets on the radar. Same for the NCAA’s deadline for players to withdraw their names from the NBA Draft to retain college eligibility. That happens on May 29.

“For example, I don’t know how fast we can get to 10 or 11 or 12 [players], but if we get there before this draft deadline, we definitely will take a pause just because we’re gonna leave some room open in case — we’re talking to a bunch of guys that are in that category. So, we’re gonna have to leave a little bit of space but we’re not gonna leave too much space because there are really talented players that actually fit us and fit together now.”

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Fix the wheel on the whiteboard!

Back to this big board of 29 players. Pope said it is an actual whiteboard in his office, but it’s already in need of repair.

“Unfortunately, one of the wheels on the right on the whiteboard is broken and it’s driving me crazy,” Pope said. “My new [executive assistant], Megan Summers, she’s an elite level, but if she can’t get this wheel fixed, we’re gonna have a problem. We can’t roll this thing around, man!”

Pope said he eventually wants to go digital with the big board. The staff has a series of Google Docs they share about prospects — “Please, please, BBN, don’t try and break the code” — but for now, they’re relying on the broken whiteboard and five dry-erase markers to sort players by position.

“We have five different colors and several different markings,” Pope said. “It looks more like a cloud than it does a roster chart in terms of what we’re doing on the board but it’s just because this is a very artistic, organic process; that’s the way we operate. I think teams are a beautiful thing, man, because they’re living and they’re dynamic and it’s like a living organism.

“And so, if you walk in and you sat with us and heard us talk, you would feel like, wow, this seems really messy. But as you get through the mess, man, something really beautiful comes out of it.”

So far, so good. But get that wheel fixed, Megan!