Mark Pope's family feel style of recruiting will land elite players for Kentucky

Mark Pope is going about recruiting the right way.

Feb 19, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope watches the action during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

College basketball has changed a lot over the last few years, which has affected many different areas, especially high school recruiting. Coaches are less dependent on high school recruiting thanks to the transfer portal and being able to go get players who already have proven college basketball success.

Kentucky's Mark Pope is one of the coaches who likes to find balance on his roster, meaning he still does use the transfer portal, but he also wants to try and land elite players from the high school ranks.

Kentucky is currently making a hard push after five-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. from Blairstown, New Jersey. The elite 6'2 guard was supposed to be on campus this weekend for a visit to Kentucky, but inclement weather led to the visit being rescheduled.

This weekend was Rippey Jr.'s birthday, so the visit was meant to be on his birthday weekend for the elite point guard. Since the visit had to be rescheduled, Coach Pope made sure to send some birthday love over to Rippey Jr., which his father shared via social media.

Here is the video of Coach Pope and some of this year's team singing Happy Birthday to one of Kentucky's top 2026 recruits.

Our Kentucky Visit Was Rescheduled But We Still Received ❤️‼️
Thank You Coach Pope And @KentuckyMBB Coaches, Players, Staff And Fans For The Birthday Blessings And Love #ForeverGrateful#
PG Deron Rippey Jr. 26’ @BlairAcademyMBB @NewHeightsNYC TGBTG #WeWalkByFaithAndNotBySight! pic.twitter.com/jgb8Bbrc6a

— Deron Rippey Sr. (@rippey_deron) August 2, 2025

Why are gestures like this so important in college recruiting?

Recruiting in college basketball has changed a lot due to NIL, so this means the coaches have to work really hard to get players to pick their school. One thing Coach Pope does an excellent job of selling is a family feel at Kentucky. Now it's not fake, what Coach Pope is selling is real, and he is trying to show recruits this.

Coach Pope wants players to know that Big Blue Nation is the best fan base in all of college basketball and there is no experience like being a Kentucky player. Videos like the one Rippey Jr.'s father posted about Coach Pope singing Happy Birthday show just why Pope is such an elite recruiter.

Pope still has a lot to prove on the recruiting trail

One knock the college basketball world has had on Pope is how he is as a high school recruiter. Pope's skill as a recruiter in the portal can't be questioned at all. He has landed some great players at the high school level, but most are from the Bluegrass State.

The college basketball world still wants to see Coach Pope land a big fish from outside of Kentucky, and it looks like the Wildcats are in a good spot with Rippey Jr.