Mark Pope splurged $22 million to make the Kentucky Wildcats a championship-contending team. What were the results? A 12-6 record and a chance of missing the NCAA Tournament altogether. But Pope’s problems don’t end there… Earlier this month, the Wildcats appeared to no longer be the front-runner for Tyran Stokes, the top recruit in the 2026 class. However, they’re now doing everything they can to get him back.

“Kentucky assistant coach Jason Hart is currently watching No. 1-ranked recruit Tyran Stokes here at Hoophall,” Joe Tipton of ON3 said on X.

The coach’s presence shows that Kentucky is once again trying to get the 6-foot-7 forward from Louisville, who now plays for Rainier Beach High School in Seattle.

It showcases desperation. The Wildcats were in the lead for Stokes all fall, but their $465 million deal with JMI Sports changed everything. The contract reportedly requires recruits to give up their NIL rights, which conflicts with Stokes’ Nike shoe deal. On the other hand, rivals Kansas and Oregon are clear about how much money recruits will make. Kentucky is not. Because of this lack of clarity, Stokes and his family have decided to move on.

“I want to play for someone who really appreciates me outside of the court,” Stokes said previously. “Someone who is going to talk with me just about how things are going and not just talk basketball all the time. I’m looking for a home, a place that I’m going to feel comfortable.”

Stokes wants more than just basketball and NIL money. He had to transfer to Rainier Beach due to suspensions and issues at Notre Dame Prep. Now he’s looking for stability. Kentucky’s recent three-game SEC winning streak shows that they can fight, but Pope has a harder test ahead.

Comeback wins allowed Mark Pope and the Wildcats to finally get going

This consistency can actually help Pope. At the start of the season, Kentucky looked lost. They were 9-6 a little over a week ago. But something clicked. The Wildcats found a pattern: they would fall behind by a lot and then take over in the second half. It’s not normal, but three straight SEC wins show that it works.

The game against Tennessee was a perfect example. Kentucky was down 11 points at halftime. They had already come back from a 16-point deficit against LSU, so the story felt familiar. The Wildcats took the lead with 34 seconds left and never let go. These aren’t lucky breaks; they’re planned second-half surges.

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“I think the gift we have, and I will treasure this with this group, and we really feel it,” Pope said via Jack Pilgrim. “It’s like we’re coming into halftime down 20. We’ve done it multiple times now and we come back and win every single time. It gives you so much confidence as a group because you can walk in the locker room and nobody’s sideways. It’s like, ‘Yep, this is what we do. We’ll come out and win the second half.’ These guys have proved to do it, man.”

Kentucky is figuring out its identity. For Stokes, seeing a team fight through chaos and emerge stronger might remind him of his own basketball journey. Pope only needs to put those pieces together.