If you're a Kentucky sports fan you have a lot of news to sink your teeth into.
On both the basketball and football front the coaching carousel and transfer portal are popping.
Alvin Brooks III is joining Mark Pope's staff
By any estimation, Brooks' addition from Baylor is a huge pickup for Mark Pope. CI sources have indicated that one consideration for Brooks was the chance to become a head coach in the not too distant future. He already had a strong reputation at Baylor, but his credentials are largely on the recruiting side and the increased visibility of becoming associate head coach in Lexington would be good for his career in the big picture.
Overall thoughts on that first staff
John Calipari made some headline staffing moves in recent years but there was a sense that he was trying to recapture a magic that had been lost. Pope's first staff, which includes Brooks, Mark Fox, Cody Fueger, and Jason Hart, has a distinctly different feel to it, perhaps because Pope isn't "running it back" with former UK assistants like Calipari had.
The staff appears to check all the boxes. Mark Fox has impressive credentials as a defensive coach and tons of head coach experience. Brooks is one of the top assistants and recruiters in college basketball right now. Fueger ran BYU's well-regarded offense and Jason Hart has been in the spotlight as someone to watch for a while now.
It's a very good sign that Pope was able to attract such a balanced, promising, and proven staff. A guy who is able to recruit coaches may well find success recruiting players.
Aidan Mahaney visits UK this weekend
Jeff Goodman reported recently that Aidan Mahaney will be visiting Kentucky this weekend. The St. Mary's transfer would be a huge addition for Mark Pope's first UK team but he's also strongly considering UCONN.
Mahaney has taken visits to Virginia and Creighton. This weekend will be busy with stops in both Lexington and Storrs. Mahaney was one of the top players in the WCC last year, averaging 13.9 points (just 38.6% FG), 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. While Mahaney's field goal percentage may be concerning overall he did shoot 40% from three as a freshman and 35.5% from deep as a sophomore, playing more than 30 minutes per game in both seasons for the Gaels.
Mahaney scored 23 points (60% FG) in a 69-60 win against Gonzaga in the WCC tournament's semifinal.
Three receivers hit the portal
Kentucky receivers Raymond Cottrell, Shamar Porter, and Ardell Banks have all entered their names into the NCAA transfer portal. We knew there would be some players going into the portal after the spring, once the dust settled, and it's not a surprise that there's another exodus at wide out.
The reality is, we all know that Barion Brown, Dane Key, Ja'Mori Maclin and Anthony Brown are going to eat up a lot of the snaps at those receiver spots. Maclin and Brown can play inside or out. Demie Sumo-Karngbaye has always been viewed as a good receiving threat who can motion out. Then you have Fred Farrier, who was assessed to be farther along than both Cottrell and Porter before they brought him in, and Hardley Gilmore was something of a revelation in the spring.
Kentucky doesn't throw a ton of receivers out there onto the field so there may always be heavy turnover with players who are going into seasons thinking they are second or third string. Why not take advantage of the portal era and look for immediate playing time? If your year goes well and you prove yourself somewhere, you're able to transfer back up to the highest level and with more NIL attached. Being a journeyman nowadays isn't as bad as being stuck in a loaded position room with no prospect of playing time.
In short, none of these losses change the situation for Kentucky next year. Welcome to the portal era, again.
Peny Boone visited this week
Rivals.com first reported that Peny Boone would be visiting Kentucky early this week. That trip did take place, Cats Illustrated confirmed, and the initial returns from sources indicated there was a real possibility that Boone could be added to the roster.
There were a number of other schools that have been interested in Boone since he went into the transfer portal after picking Louisville earlier this year.
Our expectation is that Kentucky could have good news to announce soon. One has to imagine that if Kentucky is intent on adding Boone post-spring it says something about things in the big picture. This was after Kentucky's attempt to recruit Oregon State RB transfer Damien Martinez.
