Mark Pope calls out 'craziness' in media amid reports of $7-9 million offer to Yaxel Lendeborg

Heading into the 2026 NCAA Tournament, one of the biggest stories in college basketball revolves around Kentucky. Not about its upcoming Round of 64 game against Santa Clara, but the claim that it offered now-Michigan star forward Yaxel Lendeborg $7-9 million to transfer from UAB this offseason.

In an interview with the Associated Press on Monday, Lendeborg revealed the jarring number. Instead of heading to Kentucky, however, he committed to Dusty May and Michigan. His one-year stint in Ann Arbor has been a massive success, as he was named Big Ten Player of the Year and led the Wolverines to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

“They started the number with $7 (million) to $9 (million),” Lendeborg told The AP. “They were pretty much going off on the route like we’ll pay him anything to get here.”

During Kentucky head coach Mark Pope‘s media opportunity on Thursday, he was asked about the reports of ‘offering an individual player $7-9 million.’ Pope sent a strong response.

“I assume I’m allowed to answer this question,” Pope said. “I can tell you this… I’ve been in this business for a long time. At Kentucky, it’s just different. I think part of the problem, too, is that — I’m gonna get myself in trouble — but part of the reason is there’s been such blurred lines between all media. I don’t think anyone differentiates between social media with someone in their underwear in their basement that has nothing to do, against the most notable journalists in the world with unbelievable ethics. It all blurs together, and then we start reporting everything together, whether it has any validity or not.”

Kentucky reportedly boasts most expensive roster in college basketball

Although the claim that Lendeborg was offered $7-9 million sounds ridiculous, Kentucky did end up accruing the most expensive roster in college basketball. According to multiple reports, the roster makeup rounds out to around $22 million.

“Like I said, on a daily basis, in fact I had this experience with (Kentucky AD) Mitch (Barnhart). Mitch walked into my office two days ago and right now, I’m so dug in that I’m not spending a lot of time on reporting. We had a couple of stories where I was dumbfounded and befuddled about what was out there and what was being said and supported. Then I was like, that was the same type of stuff that was out there the week before and the week before and the week before.

“To BBN, I’d say, please don’t believe anything you read about anything. If I was going to tell you the percent of stuff that was actually reported accurately, it would probably be in the 5% percentile. It’s an interesting time in the world, and that’s what it is. There’s craziness running around, but that’s what makes Kentucky so great. That’s what makes it great about everywhere else. If anyone wants clicks, they can just say any crazy thing or write anything about Kentucky and they’ll get clicks, likes, and controversy.”

While this story keeps on growing larger and larger, Pope and co. would most likely prefer to see it go away until after the NCAA Tournament wraps up. Kentucky seeks its second consecutive Round of 64 victory on Friday against the Santa Clara Broncos, coached by former Kentucky assistant coach Herb Sendek.