Mark Pope answers Kentucky fans' questions -- even some hard ones

Mark Pope asked for questions from Kentucky fans on social media, and to his credit, he followed through with answers, even to some hard ones.

Pope just released a three-minute video in which he answered seven of the 5,000 questions he received on Twitter and Instagram since putting out the call on Tuesday. Included in those are questions about recruiting, specifically Kentucky’s struggles in the 2026 class; the program being used as leverage in NIL negotiations; concerns over frontcourt depth and whether Malachi Moreno will stay in the draft; and his new backcourt of Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins.

Stokes was not mentioned by name in the question about recruiting, but Pope mentioned him anyway, at least indirectly. He also did not shy away from the fan referencing the 14 top-20 players that visited Kentucky’s campus, none of which picked the Cats.

“The first change, I’d like to get all 20 kids to visit our campus,” Pope said. “That’s a major win, and there’s no limit. Second, I’d like to land a few. Third, this year, we were chasing a generational talent, and we fell a little short, but we weren’t sitting on our hands. We put together a roster that we are going to love watching crush it in Rupp Arena.”

The center of that (literally) is Malachi Moreno. Pope said that keeping Moreno was Kentucky’s top priority going into the offseason, and he believes Moreno will be the best center in all of college basketball next year; however, he said the program supports Moreno testing the NBA Draft waters. He also referenced the report that came out this morning that Moreno worked out for the Knicks on Tuesday, and the fact that he will participate in the NBA Draft Combine next week.

“This is the place where basketball dreams come true, and Malachi has two dreams. He’s dreaming of hanging a banner at Kentucky, and he’s dreaming of playing in the NBA, and so we’re supporting him, chasing both of those.”

As for where Pope has been lately, he revealed that over the last two days, he has visited Tel Aviv, Israel; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Milan, Italy; Cremona, Italy; and five or six cities in the United States. We know the Tel Aviv trip was to see Marcio Santos, who committed to LSU this morning. Pope said the staff is working hard in the transfer portal to “shore up” the five position.

Pope told fans to keep the questions coming, so this could just be part one of a series. Kudos to him for doing it and especially addressing some of the tougher topics. Hopefully, the discourse continues. Until then, here is the full Q&A:

Big Blue Nation, you never cease to amaze me. 24 hours in, we’re almost 2 million views. We’re at 5,000 questions between x and Instagram. You guys are incredible. So let’s jump right to the questions.

Q: From @KyleSRobertson: Is Kentucky being used by players to leverage for more NIL?

A: Yes. We’re the biggest brand in basketball.

Q: From @HSTopRecruiting: What changes are being made to recruiting? You have to see a problem with 14 top-20 kids visiting and landing none. What’s the change?

A: The first change, I’d like to get all 20 kids to visit our campus. That’s a major win, and there’s no limit. Second, I’d like to land a few. Third, this year, we were chasing a generational talent, and we fell a little short, but we weren’t sitting on our hands. We put together a roster that we are going to love watching crush it in Rupp Arena.

Q: From @FeltnerKev32715: Another concern I have is that we are not addressing the five-spot. Also, [Malachi] Moreno is on the precipice of the first round.

A: Malachi Moreno was the number one priority for us going into this portal season. We think that he’s going to be the best center in all of college basketball next year here at Kentucky. He’s also going through the draft process. He had a great workout just last night for an NBA team. Next week, he’s heading to the combine, and we’re supporting him every step of the way. This is the place where basketball dreams come true, and Malachi has two dreams. He’s dreaming of hanging a banner at Kentucky, and he’s dreaming of playing in the NBA, and so we’re supporting him, chasing both of those.

At the same time. we’re working hard in the portal right now to shore up this five-spot. We’re going to have an unbelievable crew at the center position.

Q: From @Zakari.s47: Would you come to our wedding?

A: I don’t know if I can make the wedding, but I have had the opportunity to officiate at three of my former players’ weddings, which has been incredible. I do want to say best wishes to you and grace on this incredible day.

Q: From @TheKYGameday and @MattSakR2NG: What is your favorite aspect of Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins’ games?

A: One of the top priorities for us going into the portal was finding creators, and these are two of the elite creators in all of college basketball. They are going to form a dynamic duo for Kentucky basketball. They are both over 30% assist rate. There is only currently one other roster in the entire country with two players over a 30% assist rate. This is going to be awesome.

Q: From @StefBPalmer: Where have you been?

A: In the last few days, I was in Tel Aviv, Ljubljana, Milan, Cremona, as well as five or six cities in the States, but I am so happy to be back in Lexington. Let’s go, Cats.

Keep the questions coming BBN! pic.twitter.com/MdEnykTs7i

— Mark Pope (@CoachMarkPope) May 6, 2026