What kind of high school players will Mark Pope recruit at UK? We’re about to find out.

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Most of the focus, for good reason, has been on the NCAA transfer portal since Mark Pope was officially announced as Kentucky basketball’s new head coach on April 12.

Pope has built the bulk of his first Kentucky basketball roster from scratch, adding eight Wildcats via the portal this offseason with more on the way. He won’t have any holdovers from John Calipari’s final UK squad either: All scholarship players from the 2023-24 Kentucky team have either turned professional, entered the transfer portal or exhausted their college eligibility.

But this weekend, Pope and the Kentucky coaching staff can take a brief break from the portal and focus on traditional high school recruiting.

Friday through Sunday is labeled as an “evaluation period” on the NCAA Division I men’s basketball recruiting calendar.

An “evaluation period” is defined as a “period of time when it is permissible for authorized athletics department staff members to be involved in off-campus activities designed to assess the academic qualifications and playing ability of prospective student-athletes. No in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts shall be made with the prospective student-athlete during an evaluation period.”

This is a drawn-out way of saying college basketball coaches and recruiters can watch prospects play in person this weekend, which naturally leads to a flurry of scholarship offers.

A key event on the calendar this weekend — and the one that will attract the most prominent college coaches — is the third session of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), which is taking place just outside Indianapolis. (The Herald-Leader will be in attendance for this event).

Plenty is still unknown about the way Pope and his coaching staff will go about recruiting high school prospects to Kentucky, but we do have past evidence to point to from Pope’s time as BYU’s head coach.

Here’s what you need to know for this weekend’s Kentucky basketball recruiting activities.

The new Kentucky basketball coaching staff, led by head coach Mark Pope, has made recruiting contact with class of 2025 prospect AJ Dybantsa. A 6-foot-9 small forward, Dybantsa is the top-ranked recruit in the 2025 class.

What has Kentucky done under Mark Pope with high school recruiting?

So far, not much, but there have been a few newsworthy items on this front, such as members of the Kentucky coaching staff contacting high school players and re-offering scholarships to players who were previously offered by Calipari.

Among the Nike EYBL players who have been reportedly contacted by members of Kentucky’s new coaching staff are:

▪ AJ Dybantsa: 6-9 small forward in the class of 2025 who is the No. 1-ranked player in the class by the 247Sports Composite.

▪ Caleb Wilson: 6-9 power forward in the class of 2025 who is the No. 4-ranked player in the class by the 247Sports Composite.

▪ Jasper Johnson: 6-4 combo guard in the class of 2025 who is the No. 11-ranked player in the class by the 247Sports Composite.

Johnson’s father is Dennis Johnson, the former Harrodsburg, UK and NFL player who serves as the head football coach and athletics director at Woodford County, where Jasper previously played high school basketball.

▪ Will Riley: 6-8 small forward in the class of 2025 who is the No. 15-ranked player in the class by the 247Sports Composite.

▪ Tounde Yessoufou: 6-5 power forward in the class of 2025 who is the No. 21-ranked player in the class by the 247Sports Composite.

▪ Davion Hannah: 6-5 combo guard in the class of 2025 who is the No. 29-ranked player in the class by the 247Sports Composite.

▪ Shelton Henderson: 6-6 small forward in the class of 2025 who is the No. 42-ranked player in the class by the 247Sports Composite.

Players from other circuits that have been in contact with the new Kentucky staff include four-star, in-state center Malachi Moreno (Adidas) and five-star guard Darryn Peterson (Adidas). Pope and the new UK coaching staff have re-offered a scholarship to Peterson, who was the first class of 2025 prospect to have been offered a scholarship by Calipari at Kentucky.

Of course, this is on top of the three incoming freshmen that Pope has secured for next season’s UK roster: Collin Chandler (a former BYU signee), Trent Noah (a former South Carolina signee) and Travis Perry (who was previously signed to play at UK).

New UK basketball assistant Alvin Brooks III is one of the four Kentucky coaches allowed to engage in off-campus recruiting activities. That includes attending recruiting events during evaluation periods, like the ones being held this weekend.

Which Kentucky coaches can be out recruiting?

Four coaches on the new-look Kentucky basketball staff are permitted to engage in off-campus recruiting activities, such as the ones taking place this weekend: They are Pope, associate head coach Alvin Brooks III, assistant coach Cody Fueger and assistant coach Jason Hart.

Brooks III was previously the top assistant coach at Baylor on Scott Drew’s staff, and arrives in Lexington with a well-known and respected recruiting reputation, especially in the state of Texas.

“Al’s always been a people person, a connector to people,” Brooks’ father — former Houston and current Lamar head coach Alvin Brooks Jr. — told the Herald-Leader. “He’s always built relationships and has been able to do it in a genuine way. Not in a transactional way, in a genuine way. ... He’s been able to maintain that even at the highest level.”

Fueger has been an assistant coach under Pope for the last nine seasons: Five of them at BYU and the four before that at Utah Valley. Prior to those two stops, Pope and Fueger were both on staff together at BYU under former Cougars head coach Dave Rose.

Fueger was the first coaching hire made at Kentucky by Pope, and the 40-year-old Fueger has also attracted attention this offseason for his social media posts signaling new player additions for the Wildcats.

pic.twitter.com/Rehhb9pdMl
— Cody Fueger (@Cody_Fueger) May 16, 2024

Hart was most recently the head coach of the NBA’s G League Ignite team, which no longer exists. The 46-year-old Hart was a second-round NBA draft pick in 2000 and had a 10-year professional playing career. Hart and Pope were teammates with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2000-01.

Hart was also an assistant coach for eight seasons at Southern California, helping the Trojans advance to three NCAA Tournaments and an Elite Eight appearance.

Other recruiting showcases this weekend

The Nike EYBL stop in Indianapolis this weekend will feature the most top-end talent, and therefore attract the most high-major college coaches. But it’s not the only recruiting event during this evaluation period.

The Adidas 3SSB circuit will host a session in Bryan, Texas. The Under Armour Association circuit has a session in Hamilton, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. The PRO16/NXT circuit (Puma) will have an event in Wichita, Kansas.

Kentucky is expected to have a presence at each of these events, a benefit of having four coaches who are able to check out all the young basketball talent on display this weekend.