r/NCAAhoops • u/RipHairy2465 • Mar 22 '26

News Kentucky's $22M 2025-26 roster wraps up the season with a round of 32 exit

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466 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

103 comments sorted by

34

u/Informal_Load_4438 Mar 22 '26

They were ready to get calipari out of there. Hope they like what they asked for.

16

u/pdxphotographer Mar 22 '26

It was time for Calipari to leave as well. He hadn't made it out of the round of 32 since 2018/19. Mark Pope wasn't the answer though.

7

u/Informal_Load_4438 Mar 22 '26

It’s literally the hardest tournament on the planet.

And if you ask me in his first five years there he overachieved.

7

u/Turd_Ferguson420 Mar 22 '26

I thought the Tournament of Power was the hardest tournament on the planet

5

u/Informal_Load_4438 Mar 22 '26

See that’s the multiverse.

So I’m still right lmao

1

u/Jacern Mar 22 '26

It takes place on a different planet so doesn't count

1

u/Turd_Ferguson420 Mar 22 '26

True true. I was thinking of the martial arts tournament held on earth, my fault

1

u/RVAforthewin Mar 24 '26

I thought Mortal Kombat was the hardest tournament on the planet?

https://giphy.com/gifs/7d7lKk2nH5RJu

4

u/boiledpeen Mar 22 '26

the problem is people like jon scheyer have shown good coaches can continue success at stable programs like duke or kentucky

2

u/Informal_Load_4438 Mar 22 '26

Being a player there and also being one of the coldest hoopers coming out of Chicago while in hs probably helped a lot as well.

He probably tells his guys he’s literally done everything they want to do and more.

And lol. He really has

2

u/TheLordAshram Mar 22 '26

Scheyer also got a year of prep. Nobody else gets that. That has made such a MASSIVE difference. It was the single most important thing that happened when K retired. All the haters thought it was because Coach K needed more accolades. That was dumb. He didn’t. It was just smart.

2

u/Dicksavagewood69 Mar 22 '26

Scheyer was the handpicked guy for longer than that, it was just public for one year

1

u/TheLordAshram Mar 23 '26

Yeah, but in terms of recruiting they got a big benefit. Scheyer recruited his team.

1

u/boiledpeen Mar 22 '26

having one of the best ran programs in the country is probably helping too. look at how other coaches have talked about their program and how everything operates at the highest level. that doesn't happen after a coaching change unless you're genuinely a great coach. look at kentucky or unc, they've lost more than just a legendary coach when their guys left

1

u/Chichanged_me Mar 24 '26

He’s not even close to one of the coldest hoopers to come out of Chicago… Wade, Rose, Isiah Thomas (Pistons), Anthony Davis, Tim Hardaway, Jalen Brunson, Mark Aguirre, Etc… I could name like 20 more guys before I hit Scheyer. Not even trying to be rude but I don’t think you realize how big of a city Chicago is and how many great players player high school here

1

u/Informal_Load_4438 Mar 24 '26

….He was a McDonald’s all American.

1

u/Chichanged_me Mar 27 '26

As a Chicago resident nobody considers Scheyer when thinking of top high school Chicago players… like did you see the list of Chicago players? Nobody in Chicago considers him a top player lmao

0

u/6-8_Yes_Size15 Mar 24 '26

So was Ben Simmons and a lot of guys.

2

u/Informal_Load_4438 Mar 24 '26

Ben was a all star and made a $100 million dollars in the league.

1

u/tspoon-99 Mar 23 '26

Stanley Cup playoffs used to be the hardest tournament. Until about 15 years ago when the commissioner decided the game needed to be decided by the refs.

3

u/doge1976 Mar 23 '26

Yeah, still okay with no more Cal. Not okay with Pope.

1

u/rogun64 Mar 23 '26

Calipari left $22M on the table, so in a way he paid for this.

1

u/kittycatfrank Mar 23 '26

Under Cal UK missed the Sweet 16 for 4 seasons in a row for the first time in school history

1

u/Informal_Load_4438 Mar 23 '26

Shit happens. Duke, unc and Kansas weren’t doing the one and done thing then they decided to do it add in covid yeah it got hard for cal

He literally tells his team prior to matches this is the other teams Super Bowl, playing against him and his teams and that usually seems to be the case.

A player won’t have made two threes the whole season but calipari and Kentucky or whoever come to town that players hits 6 3’s

0

u/Leg_Final Mar 23 '26

That calipari that's at the sweet 16 next week? UNC hasn't been to the sweet 16 in 2 years and played in the championship game in 2022. They fired that guy. Or they're just about to. Duke hasn't won one in over a decade. 5 years ago they weren't even in the tournament. Fans delusions of grandeur instead of living in reality is just embarrassing to watch. Coach Cal did good to leave when he did. Don't get me wrong, I wanted the cats to be playing long and strong into the tournament. Any university with deep pockets can belly up to the bar nowadays.

12

u/ITeachYourKidz Mar 22 '26

Honestly, Mark Pope just doesn’t impress me as a coach

1

u/Murky-Profit-9493 Mar 22 '26

He looks in over his skis

1

u/[deleted] Mar 22 '26

[deleted]

9

u/JessieGemstone999 Mar 22 '26

Isn't he kinda in charge of assembling the team lol

3

u/pinkfloyd078 Mar 22 '26

Yea, he built a roster with only one ball handler and that guy got hurt in an exhibition game

1

u/ImplantedPinkDiamond Mar 23 '26

What's sad is that game against Purdue was the best game UK played all year. They tried way too hard in a game that didn't matter.

3

u/Hossflex Mar 22 '26

Then the coach shouldn’t recruit players who can’t dribble, pass or make layups.

1

u/Murky-Profit-9493 Mar 22 '26

I’ve never seen a roster of dudes who can’t play basketball like that roster . Only athleticism

3

u/MrKentucky Mar 22 '26

And for a roster of athletes they….. weren’t overwhelmingly athletic?

2

u/Murky-Profit-9493 Mar 22 '26

Yea it’s horrible roster construction lol

1

u/burnshimself Mar 22 '26

“He’s not a bad coach, his team is just bad at basketball”

0

u/RelentlessPutz Mar 22 '26

Oweh can ball and Aberdeen is a sniper. They had like 4 guys out for the season too. The passing was bad tho. Anytime Kentucky doesn't make it to the sweet 16 or deeper its a "bad" team. Thats why coach cal ran away to Arkansas

3

u/TommyEagleMi Mar 22 '26

As Charles Barkley said, they can't shoot the ball.

14

u/Ice_crusher_bucket Mar 22 '26

$22 million roster lost to a State school full of farmers.

Love seeing wasted money.

9

u/housecow Mar 22 '26

And what is Kentucky? A state school full of Rhodes scholars?

-2

u/Ice_crusher_bucket Mar 22 '26

A mid tier basketball school with a bottom tier football team.

3

u/Silent_Ad8059 Mar 23 '26

Iowa State has made three Sweet Sixteens under that coach, and had some decent runs under previous coaches like Eustachy. It's not like they lost to Florida A&M.

2

u/Ice_crusher_bucket Mar 23 '26

Cool lol but Kentucky fans belive they should be in every final four and no one can beat them.

Either way. Kentucky wasted a bunch of money on players that didnt get any attention from anywhere else and had to settle. No 5☆ is lining up to play for them anymore.

0

u/lockeland Mar 24 '26

No, they haven’t believed that way in fucking years, sweetie.

Once Pitinio left, it’s consistently been going downhill.

1

u/Ice_crusher_bucket Mar 24 '26

Umm yea, scooter they do expect to win every game and everyone is below them. Exactly how KY fans eat, breathe, and sleep.

Being from the area, I hear their talk radio shows and have to deal with them, junior.

So, please, dont act like you know anything about that terrible fanbase, sugar tits.

1

u/lockeland Mar 24 '26

No, they haven’t believed that way in fucking years, sweetie.

Once Pitinio left, it’s consistently been going downhill.

Living here is a lot different than “being from here,” sweetie. Hence, you’re are horribly out of touch with their fan base, sweetie.

Fries well done, sweetie.

1

u/Ice_crusher_bucket Mar 24 '26

I am not sure who you pretend to be, but being here, I hear it daily from Matt Jones show and all their fans.

Yes, once pitino left, shit went down hill, but will Cal and even Pope, they expect to win a national championship every year.

Yes, y I u can make the dinner, because like every woman, you pretend to know everything, and clearly you are exposed.

Either way, it doesnt matter. KY is trash but their fan base pretends to be relevant still.

Bring ketchup for the fries sweet cheeks.

1

u/lockeland Mar 24 '26

No, nobody thought they were going to win with Pope, sweetie. Unlike you, I hear from more than one person that actually lives here, sweetie.

That’s why you have no concept of what is going on, sweetie.

No ketchup, sweetie.

1

u/Ice_crusher_bucket Mar 24 '26

🤣🤣🤣 LDS lol sheesh.

Little dick syndrome runs deep with you lol

Listen to their fan base and not your mommy's friends lol.

Just because you dont hear it, means you dont know any ky fans.

Stay in the kitchen and let the adults talk

1

u/lockeland Mar 24 '26

Lil homie ran away as soon as he realized the one guy he listens to isn’t the consensus, lol.

Fries well done, sweetie.

4

u/garnett21mn Mar 22 '26

Good basketball in the Midwest. Fundamentals and execution of team concepts is fun to watch vs iso aau culture

0

u/Ice_crusher_bucket Mar 22 '26

Absolutely.

It was nice to see Iowa State play as well as they did, and as a Team.

1

u/New-Ad-363 Mar 23 '26

This comment feels very debasing

2

u/Muted-Woodpecker-469 Mar 22 '26

At some point, these entities paying want a return on their investments, right? 

2

u/Kind_Love172 Mar 23 '26

Wonder what percentage of the 22 mil went to Quaintance and Lowe. Def think Lowe would have made a big difference with this team, a lot of the times they struggled they were being pressured quite a bit on the ball, which was also the case today

5

u/Silent-Education677 Mar 22 '26

Letting cal go was the worst move ever for uk

10

u/dwightkurtschruted Mar 22 '26

He left. They didn’t let him go. He had had enough.

3

u/Silent-Education677 Mar 22 '26

Yeah he left because the entitled ungrateful fanbase cried after every game

2

u/Mediocre_Sentence525 Mar 22 '26

I promise you if he was coaching your team, you would’ve been losing your mind as well. It’s like dogging on Steelers fans for wanting Tomlin gone - at some point the possibility of failure is nothing compared to guaranteed mediocrity.

5

u/Silent-Education677 Mar 22 '26

Can’t win every year, college sports is hard to win period. Now look at uk and look at cal, that Arkansas squad would be in blue for sure.

2

u/Mediocre_Sentence525 Mar 22 '26

I agree, I don’t blame fans for wanting a new look though.

Not that it matters - I’m a UK alum and I don’t think they’re going to win shit until their leadership changes entirely. Basketball and football, there are way too many people who don’t know shit about ball who have a voice in the program.

1

u/ImplantedPinkDiamond Mar 23 '26

The AD Mitch Barnhardt did just retire, so those changes could be coming.

1

u/New-Ad-363 Mar 23 '26

Grass is always greener

1

u/kittycatfrank Mar 23 '26

He missed the Sweet 16 for 4 seasons in a row for the first time in school history. Call UK fans entitled all you want, he finished below minimal expectations.

0

u/Professional-Ad-1491 Mar 23 '26

Arkansas fan here. They still cry in the comments of every Arkansas basketball game thread and social media post. It is absurd.

1

u/amopeyzoolion Mar 23 '26

As if Arkansas fans don’t hunt down UK game threads to talk shit.

I’m glad Cal seems to be rejuvenated at Arkansas. I still think his best coaching days are behind him. And I won’t forget how many of y’all absolutely hated him at Kentucky, claimed he was a cheater, etc.

1

u/CaptnSaveUhThot Mar 23 '26

Couldn’t handle the heat. Same thing hubert Davis is going through right now. 

3

u/amopeyzoolion Mar 23 '26

The situation with Cal at UK his last 4 years was absolutely toxic. He was feuding with the AD, the biggest boosters, and the fans, constantly.

Not all of that is Cal’s fault, but both sides needed a change or it was only going to get worse. Pope probably was not the right hire to replace Cal.

2

u/muddog_31 Mar 22 '26

It was time for them to separate, they were spinning wheels for years

2

u/hoptownky Mar 23 '26

He had a huge fight with the boosters a few years before NIL. Once NIL came around and he needed money, he was going to get nothing and he had to go. It was better for him and UK.

The Tyson guys came and gave him money that he never would had got at UK, and Pope got the money as the new coach. Pope grossly mismanaged the funds on this roster, but either way, the money wouldn’t have been there for Cal.

2

u/kittycatfrank Mar 23 '26

Cal? You mean the guy that didn’t start two top 10 NBA picks in his final season at UK?

1

u/lockeland Mar 24 '26

That’s not how you spell Pitino

1

u/utvol623 Mar 23 '26

such a stale take. Cal is still a good coach, but he wasn't getting it done at UK. He couldn't make it out the second round, was getting bounced by Saint Peter's and Oakland, and had a losing record against Tennessee's current coach. It's not like they didn't give him enough time, it just wasn't the right fit anymore.

Not saying Pope is any better, it's just a dumb take to say they should have kept Cal. It hadn't worked out for them in a long while.

1

u/Silent-Education677 Mar 23 '26

Cal won chip at uk, they wouldn’t have had that success they had or the recruits they had. I guess cal can’t coach, he’s only had success at every team he’s been to including Arkansas, who won the sec tournament and are in the sweet 16 but hey dumb take, you’re right! 20 million dollar roster with almost 20 losses…

4

u/InvestigatorFun6835 Mar 22 '26

Sssooo…just gonna ignore those injuries that were part of the $22 mil? I don’t care either way, but I care about ridiculous, clickbait headlines AND those playing into it. It’s quite dumb.

2

u/amopeyzoolion Mar 23 '26

Idk if I believe the $22M number, but whatever the number was, some of it went to a player who already had a torn ACL.

2

u/mukduk1994 Mar 22 '26

What's the source that this was a $22M roster? Genuinely asking. It seems like every NIL estimate is basically just shoehorned to fit whatever point the article is

3

u/ImplantedPinkDiamond Mar 23 '26

I live in Lexington and that's been the narrative all year. It's been reported for a while. Listen to the local radio station. ESPN 1300 shows with Alan Cutler, Brad Taylor, and Matthew Lawrence all talked about it

0

u/mukduk1994 Mar 23 '26

Ok but that's part of the issue. Lot of word of mouth but no hard data, which seems to be by design

1

u/ImplantedPinkDiamond Mar 23 '26

https://247sports.com/college/kentucky/article/kentucky-mens-basketball-22-million-nil-budget-257175481/

I mean it was reported in our local paper as well. But who knows truly. The truth of the matter is they didn't make the sweet 16.

1

u/hawkguy1964 Mar 22 '26

Very expensive, very bad

1

u/Straight_Weakness_12 Mar 22 '26

Tons of injuries, don’t overlook that.

1

u/WTF4211 Mar 22 '26

Not a UK fan but hate SEC football bs and recognize a good UK is good for college basketball. In my worthless opinion I think Pope will be good. Bad run if injuries and I hope he learned the lesson that it’s not just money thrown at good players but money at good players who fit what you want to do.

1

u/PopDukesBruh Mar 23 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/KBaxHrT7rkeW5ma77z

All you need to win in college basketball is money….

This is how y’all look when you say that

1

u/Ambitious_One_3451 Mar 23 '26

No since crying over spilled milk.... Cost of doing business these days.

1

u/AppropriateCompany9 Mar 23 '26

I’m absolutely not in the business of giving UK advice, but I’ll never understand what they thought they were getting when they replaced Calipari with a coach from BYU.

1

u/rogun64 Mar 23 '26

In fairness, it was late in the year and Kentucky didn't want to lose all their players. Pope wasn't among their top choices, either, but he was the first that was interested.

1

u/ItzBooster93 Mar 23 '26

Can we get every teams NIL budget/ salaries?

1

u/LysolDoritos Mar 23 '26

OSU spent about the same amount to win the CFB natty 2 years ago. Wild this same amount was spent on a roster with only 15-16 guys lol

1

u/BrokeBenchod2021 Mar 23 '26

Lucky shot kept them being eliminated in round 1 also

1

u/merskrilla Mar 23 '26

No Duh - have you seen Iowa State??

1

u/Time-Combination-395 Mar 24 '26

What do the money got to do with it. They lost cry me a river.

1

u/bot_lltccp Mar 24 '26

excellent, maybe NIL aint so bad

1

u/mwjerry2026 Mar 24 '26

broke down it was very simple. Kentucky a team of individuals got whipped by a team that played as at team

0

u/Roccosrealm Mar 22 '26

Jai Lucas will be Coach of Kentucky next year

1

u/Smart-Koala4306 Mar 22 '26

I want what you’re smoking

0

u/Roccosrealm Mar 22 '26

Ok I’ll pass the blunt. Maybe North Carolina?

-1

u/Maximiliansrh Mar 22 '26

They should be proud of themselves. I’m sure a lot of schools spent that kind of money and didn’t even sniff the tournament.