Switching to the NBA Draft for a second, the top talent is so incredibly stacked that it was inevitable some really good players would come back for the NIL bag

But Braylon Mullins, Patrick Ngongba, and Thomas Haugh all returning is insane. Didn't see all 3 coming

BTW, my first round grades are *with* positional value added in
And I still have a RB and a safety in my Top 5. It's that kind of year

I'm also higher on Omar Cooper than the consensus, and a tad lower on Bain, who is still gonna be a good pro

Kentucky missing out on Donnie Freeman, who isn’t even all that good, is an abject embarrassment

No idea where they go next. Stokes ain’t coming either, that’s not happening

A wasted season that’s just a relative repeat of last year is next, and the program will have a new head coach in 2027

To celebrate draft week, here are my *15* first round grades for the 2026 NFL Draft

Jermod McCoy would've been 16, but it sounds like the knee issue is huge. A very, very bad draft at the top. But after this, the second round-caliber guys range from 16 to around 60

Several steals are available!

That’s a fair thought

I really think one of Bain, Styles or Downs will be there, and at their age I do actually value one of them over Dexter’s injury history, contract and positional value

But yeah, simply not getting some sort of pick back is pure incompetence

Even in a bad NFL draft, there’s absolutely no such thing as a Top 10 pick being useless

Someone very good is going to be there at Pick 10. Asinine to think otherwise

Yupp

Just such a high price to pay for a player who legitimately not as good as he was before his injury

They swapped out Hendrickson’s situation for one that’s 3 years younger at a less important position

Easily should’ve just paid Trey and kept the pick if this is the case!!!!

Like, it’s just common sense to get at least a fourth or fifth rounder back

Getting pushed into a locker by Joe Schoen while still not fixing the biggest issue with your team this decade (Burrow protection) is hysterical

It’s impressive how poorly ran the Cincinnati Bengals are

Dexter is a special player, but getting absolutely nothing else back and giving up a Top 10 pick for an expensive DT is the highest level of malpractice

Makes no sense at all. Home run stuff by the Giants. Punish stupid teams

Bed has been made with Diallo and Wilkins as Kentucky’s primary scorers next season. Gotta put together a roster that helps them excel as much as possible

Do that, and they can make the second weekend in the tournament and save Pope’s job

I also strongly believe Kentucky should stay away from Tyran Stokes now. Makes absolutely zero sense to pair him alongside two ball-dominant guards who aren’t good shooters

Pope must get a wing who shoots lights out, and a dependable stretch 4. Then go get a huge backup center and you’re set

To be clear, it’s a fun pairing but its also imperfect and redundant

Two guards this talented in pick and rolls is a headache for other teams. But if there aren’t good shooters around them, Kentucky is going to see a ton of zone looks in conference play. They gotta fix spacing now

Huge for Mark Pope to lock up Alex Wilkins to pair with Diallo. That’s a very fun backcourt that will put a ton of downhill pressure on teams

Still huge question marks with shooting, but this is the right way to zag if they are gonna struggle in that area

Probably the best movie ever made, if we’re being honest

Truly nothing like it before or since. Complete mastery of characterization, writing, editing, and pacing

And Henry Fonda’s performance is true, blue hero shit

Big discourse happening online on which political parties dog breeds should be grouped into — so which breeds make the most sense in each party?

Easy money: German Shepards are Republicans, Border Collies are Liberals

Performative politics used to be believable

The good news is that this is a bad high school class overall. Very similar to the Reed Sheppard year where UK had the best class, but the overall talent level was very bad across the board

So, it’s a good year to not be depending on incoming freshmen

With him and Moreno on the floor together, the other 3 players must be threats from outside. Spacing depends on it

Donnie Freeman works as a stretch 4, and Kam Williams also as the 3. But you have to nail that final option

Alex Wilkins shot just 33% from 3 last year. Need to be sure he can improve

Think we Kentucky basketball fans need to have some settle down juice with Zoom Diallo

Good player and a legit starting PG! But he didn't hit more than 2 three-point shots in any games last season. Gonna be a real liability in tournament games

Roster construction around him must be perfect

FINALLY. Thank you, Mark Pope!!!

On the board with Zoom Diallo. Not as good as Rob Wright, but that’s an athletic point guard who will compete well on defense

Needs to take one more jump as a shooter. But he’s a fine player. A solid get!

Really impressive how simple this is and how it's also an obvious compromise. Not raising taxes on permanent residents but on people who don't actually live there

Makes all the sense in the world

Overall, the best take to have here is to point out regardless of what *really* happened with Vrabel, the evidence we have was still unethical conduct for a journalist AND for a head coach

Both should be punished, and both public figures deserve ridicule. But she's the only one who has suffered

Why is it that the vast majority of people I've seen with this take are....women in journalism? And more specifically — white women?

She only jeopardized her own career. Period. There's a better way to point out double standards without trying to bring down the very people you're trying to lift up

Richie Saunders, AJ Dybantsa, Year 3 Collin Chandler, and now Year 3 Rob Wright have picked *BYU* of all schools over Kentucky in just two years

Crazy how much better off Mark Pope’s former school is without him

There's still a possible starting 5 for Kentucky that can net a Sweet 16 as bleak as things are right now

G: Zoom Diallo
G: Alex Wilkins
Wing: Paul McNeil
PF: Donnie Freeman
C: Moreno

All 4 transfers would be consensus Top 50 guys. Starts and ends with Zoom and Donnie. That's how Pope rebounds

It really does not help the Kentucky Basketball situation when Louisville is routinely landing a Top 50 transfer every other day

Pat Kelsey is pretty much the same level of coach as Mark Pope and they have a similar buying budget

Painfully obvious Pope just can't recruit

I don’t take pride in bashing Mark Pope. It absolutely sucks. He’s a good man and a totally average coach

He was just absolutely NOT deserving of this job, and literally everyone knew it when it was first reported

Saw this coming for years, and now we have to watch it drag out for a third

Think we’ve arrived at a terrible reality for Kentucky Basketball

Mark Pope will be fired after next seasons ends. Writing is on the wall, and we all know it. Team will be worse than this year’s

Someone give me one good reason why they shouldn’t fire him now and hire Billy Donovan. I’ll wait!

IMO, Kentucky needs to move along from Tyran Stokes

He's gonna take too long to decide, other guys don't like playing with him, and he's not a fit for Mark Pope. Just focus on getting as many good transfers as possible. Can't risk falling behind for a guy who probably picks Kansas anyways

The chickens….

Are coming home to roost