Mark Pope and Kentucky had a difficult season and then an even more difficult off season. Only consistency in their season was injuries to multiple players. This led to a lacklustre season in which Mark Pope struggled to manage a solid starting five.

Kentucky got eliminated in the second round of the NCAA tournament for which Pope suffered a lot of criticism. Come off season, a lot of players decided to leave Kentucky. They lost 11 of 16 players. Collin Chandler, transferred to BYU, Jasper Johnson to Oregon, Brandon Garrison to Alabama, Jaland Lowe to Georgetown, Andrija Jelavić to Ohio State, Mouhamed Dioubate to LSU and Denzel Aberdeen to Florida.

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One of the most important players for Pope also declared for the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Many believe the key to a good season for Pope’s Kentucky is Malachi Moreno’s return. While he has impressed in the NBA draft combine and is set for late round 1 picks, his return is not completely off the table. Source report that he might be leaning towards going to the NBA. Recently he shared a cryptic post which further increased confusion.

Moreno shared two eyes emojis on his X account. This could mean that he is looking forward to the NBA draft, or make a u-turn and return to Kentucky, or it could be regarding entirely different. In fact this could mean anything and Kentucky fans were not in mood for riddles.

“You can legit be a top 10 pick next year please come back,” one fan requested.

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“We don’t need more of this sh*t. Announce your decision,” another said.

“I’m ngl bro we not doing this sh*t are you back or not,” another commented.

“He’s coming back. He would never do that to UK fans if he was staying in the draft,” one fan speculated.

“Stop playing games man we need ya #BBN … tell Pope to come with the bag & some more post touches,” another fan called him back.

“Stop being a Stokes and announce your decision…,” another fan said.

All the players that rejected Kentucky

The reason why Kentucky are in a tough spot is not for the lack of trying. Nor it is the budget. Mark Pope reportedly has the highest- $21-$23 million of NIL budget to splurge. But the problem is a lot of players have rejected the Wildcats.

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Four most notable ones were:

Donnie Freeman committed to St. John’s.

Rob Wright III returned to BYU for his sophomore season.

Tyran Stokes committed to Kansas.

De’Shayne Montgomery committed to Louisville.

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