Mark Pope explains how he scouts international talent

Here is how Mark Pope scouts' international talent to see if these players are ready for the SEC.

Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks on against the Santa Clara Broncos during the first half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

This offseason, Mark Pope has been recruiting all over the world, looking to add talent to this 2026-27 Kentucky basketball roster. The Wildcats have already added one player from outside of the states, as Ousmane N’Diaye picked Kentucky, and he could blossom into a star for the Wildcats.

Pope has been looking all over the globe to bring in a backup center to play behind Malachi Moreno. He went to Israel to look at a player who ended up picking LSU, but the Wildcats' head coach is still looking for that backup center.

While answering some questions on social media yesterday, Pope was asked about how he scouts talent outside of the USA, and he gave a very good answer.

Mar 19, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope talks with the media during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Here is what Coach Pope had to say about international scouting: “So we go by film, we go by analytics, we go by league, especially how it incorporates in the SEC cause there's so many different levels of league. We evaluate age and trajectory. We have innumerable contacts in the states, in the NBA, and in the Euro League that we can go to for references to get feedback on players. Most importantly, when we can, we need to go see guys, especially those guys who were not sure about. Laying eyes on a guy can be a difference maker.”

Big Blue Nation will love to hear this answer from Coach Pope because it shows how much goes into the staff bringing in a player from outside of the states. The staff has a ton of resources all over the world that they use to make sure that the players they are bringing in will be ready to play in the SEC.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts during the first half against the Iowa State Cyclones during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

The key is getting these players on campus in the summer, so they have time to adjust to the system Pope runs and the physicality of basketball in the USA. Andrija Jelavic didn’t have the entire summer to get ready last offseason, and it took him a while to get going.

Hopefully, N’Diaye and the center that the staff brings in are able to get on campus sooner rather than later to start practicing with the team. I think Coach Pope has done a good job this offseason recruiting outside of the United States, and it will help next season. If he is able to land a good backup center and Milan Momcilovic, this should have BBN very excited.  

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