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John Calipari may not have produced the results in his last years as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, but if there was one thing he was always going to do well, it was recruit.
Calipari routinely signed one of, if not the best recruiting class in the country and helped turn those players into NBA stars.
Will new head coach Mark Pope do the same? Well, the early returns aren’t exactly promising after five-star guard Boogie Fland reportedly asked for a release from his National Letter of Intent.
Fland is the first player to decommit since Pope was officially introduced as Kentucky’s new head coach on Sunday. But he’s far from the only player to follow Calipari out of the door.
Five-stars Jayden Quaintance and Karter Knox also backed off their pledges to the Wildcats, as did four-star big man Somto Cyril.
In fact, Kentucky native Travis Perry are four-star guard Billy Richmond are the only two players remaining in Kentucky’s 2024 class. And Richmond has not yet signed his letter of intent.
So, what does losing Fland mean for Pope and the ‘Cats?
“Fland is a skilled guard whose biggest asset is his ability to shoot the basketball. Like few other players in high school basketball, he has an ability to heat up and start making tough shots from long-range,” 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein said of the 6-foot-2 combo guard. “However, his willingness to settle for those tough shots, can impact his efficiency. The 30% he shot from behind the three-point line in EYBL came in direct correlation to his shot selection, since he’s undoubtedly a better shooter than those numbers indicate.”
Calipari thrived on creating one-and-done NBA stars. But the approach ultimately came to bite him come NCAA Tournament.
Will Pope take a different approach? We’ll have to wait and see.