With Malachi Moreno's commitment, Pope plants a stake into the ground

New Kentucky head coach, Mark Pope, landed his first marquee recruit on Friday when Malachi Moreno committed to the Wildcats, and it was awesome for so many reasons. Not only is Moreno the nation’s No. 1 overall center, but he is also a Kentucky native. If he were to have lost out on Moreno, especially to a school like Indiana, it would have come as a huge gut punch to Big Blue Nation’s faith in his recruiting prowess. Instead, it now gets a boon.

Pope did not come to Kentucky with the nation’s best recruiting résumé. When it comes to Xs and Os, Pope certainly has the modern analytical chops fans have been yearning for, but he did not exactly make BYU the destination of choice for elite high school prospects. Instead, that destination was Lexington. At least, it was under the former guy.

Simply put, Kentucky fans have been spoiled when it comes to recruiting under John Calipari. Say what you want about him, he might be the best college recruiter to ever exist. It became a given that Kentucky would hold the No. 1 or at worst, the No. 2 overall recruiting spot every year. Losing that talent security blanket was the toughest element to watch meander down to Arkansas.

However, with Moreno’s commitment, Pope is saying to the Big Blue Nation, “Do not fret!” Yes, his recruiting style will be different and no, Kentucky might not secure seven 5-star players every year. But that does not mean Kentucky will become Indiana.

Moreover, he is also standing firm on his desire to keep in-state stars home. Pope loves Kentucky like few coaches before him and his drive to keep Kentucky kids in Kentucky is invigorating.

There is another big-time Kentucky native in Jasper Johnson, who is the next major target for Pope and staff. However, even if Johnson decides to play elsewhere, it will not be nearly as demoralizing now that Moreno committed first.

Instead, with Moreno’s pledge to become a Wildcat, Pope has thrown a stake in the ground, stamping out his place on the mountain, on the horse farm, and on every other Kentucky geographical landmark as a viable, capable, and proficient recruiter who ain’t goin’ nowhere.