It’s almost becoming a concern at this point — Mark Pope might seriously never go to sleep.
The first day of the July period opened on Thursday with plenty of events across the country hosting the best basketball players that the high school level has to offer. Pope made sure to get in his steps, too. Kentucky’s head coach began his day in Rock Hill, SC, where he got his eyes on a handful of the Wildcats’ top recruiting targets.
Among the prospects Pope paid attention to were four-star PG Tay Kinney, four-star PG Deron Rippey Jr., five-star SG Caleb Holt, and four-star SF Bruce Branch (2027). All three of Kinney, Rippey, and Holt hold offers from the Wildcats. Rippey even told KSR he has an official visit with Kentucky scheduled for August 1-3. Holt plans to take his UK visit sometime in September, although a date has yet to be confirmed. Branch, who is playing up a year for Compton Magic 17U, does not yet hold an offer from the ‘Cats, but says he’s talking regularly with assistant coach Cody Fueger.
And speaking of Fueger, he made sure to observe from the sidelines as five-star SF Anthony Thompson dropped 35 points in a thrilling 103-100 win for Indiana Elite over ETG. Thompson also says he’s regularly hearing from members of the Kentucky coaching staff. He’ll begin taking official visits in August and September.
Why wasn’t Pope there watching Thompson, too, you might ask? He had a good reason. The man who never sleeps quickly made the 130-mile trip southwest to North Augusta, GA, to catch some pre-Peach Jam action. ESPN’s Myron Medcalf noted that Pope was among a few head coaches in the gym to watch one of the best recruits on the Nike circuit: 2027 five-star wing Baba Oladotun, who plays for Team Durant.
Talk about a long day in the gym.
This was just the start for Pope and Co., too. There are two live periods in July. The first one started on Thursday (July 10) and will continue through Sunday (July 13). Pope, Fueger, and more Kentucky assistants will likely pop into the adidas and Nike events again during that time. Once this live period ends on July 13, they’ll only need to wait a few days for the second and final live period of the month, which runs from July 17-20 and coincides with the final few days of Peach Jam.
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