When NIL rolled out in July 2021, of course, it was a massive change, allowing student-athletes to profit from endorsements and business ventures. But the cracks started to show soon. And when you are reportedly the most expensive college basketball team with $22 million in NIL, the scrutiny is all the higher. That is exactly what the former Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein has publicly questioned.

“S*** (it’s) tough to be hungry when you got players showing up in (Mercedes-Benzes) and designer.. they will be aight (though), It’s a new era of navigating professional student athletes.. the best coaches now will be the ones that can build teams by putting pride back in the players for the COMMUNITY,” Cauley-Stein wrote on Instagram after Kentucky fell out of the AP Top 25.

“Imagine if they gave bonuses for hustle plays like steals, blocks, rebounds, assists… take points off the charts and give that game bonus to winning plays and I bet there will be no problem of lack of effort, it’s clear that trying to win ships ain’t the fuel anymore,” Cauley-Stein added.

And his doubts stem from real problems. Kentucky’s 5-4 start includes a 94-59 loss to Gonzaga that changed the program, the worst home loss since 2008. Then there’s the 67-64 loss to North Carolina that showed weaknesses in the defense. The Wildcats fell from 18th to unranked, with a 32nd place in voting, their lowest regular-season position since 2022–23.

Their best win was against Valparaiso, which is ranked 199th in the country by KenPom. This is not the kind of record you would expect from such a big investment, and especially not from a team that ended last season with the No. 12 ranking and was at No. 9 in the preseason poll this year.

Cauley-Stein isn’t the only one who thinks this.

After the Gonzaga beatdown, DeMarcus Cousins tweeted, “Can’t lie…this (UK) team has no heart! This is hard to watch (shake my head).”

Kentucky is under a lot of pressure right now because it has to play Indiana and Rick Pitino’s 22nd-ranked St. John’s soon. These games are very important for them to save a season that has shown the gap between financial investment and on-court results.

Mark Pope hopes injured players can save Kentucky’s struggling season

Mark Pope is focusing on fixing problems inside the team, like getting injured players back on the floor, even though outside criticism is growing. Kentucky has lost all four of its games this season against ranked teams, including all four of its games against teams in the top 25.

Jayden Quaintance, the 6’10” big man who hasn’t played a minute this season, is the most anticipated return. During his radio show, Pope gave cautious hope by saying, “JQ is continuing to make progress. He’s still a ways away from actually seeing in-game live action, but he’s making tremendous progress.”

Mo Dioubate’s situation has also improved significantly. The forward, who was out with a high-ankle sprain, is now listed as day-to-day after Pope said earlier that he would be out for a longer time.

Pope’s best chance of moving forward is to get these players healthy and working together. As the roster gets closer to full strength, Kentucky has a real chance to turn things around before conference play gets more intense.

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