Mark Pope should look into a GM to help with recruiting and roster management

Kentucky needs a GM to help with the future rosters.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks on from the sideline during the game against Missouri in SEC college basketball Wednesday night at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky January 7, 2026. | Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The landscape of college basketball is changing in the new day and age of the transfer portal, and NIL, which some teams have handled well, and others have not. One of the new things in college sports is having a general manager who oversees the program and helps with the NIL side of things.

Will Stein, the Wildcats new football coach, has hired a GM, and it seems like it might be a good decision for Coach Mark Pope to do the same thing. It hasn’t been the easiest thing in the world, early in the Pope era to land elite high school talent, which has frustrated some fans, knowing how talented the true freshman class has been this year.

During the John Calipari era is a season wasn’t going well, fans could be excited about the elite five-stars he had coming in the following season. Coach Pope does not have a single player committed in the 2026 class, so this isn’t something Big Blue Nation is able to do right now.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope reacts during the first half of a NCAA mens basketball game at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, February 14, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun] | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Some of BBN is starting to lose hope in Coach Pope, and some have already fully lost hope. I am a person who still believes Coach Pope is going to be able to succeed. Without question, he has done some things I don’t agree with when it comes to substitutions and roster management, but I see the vision he has for this program.

If he were to bring in a GM, it would make a ton of sense because it would help Coach Pope just focus on coaching his team and scouting players, while the GM can handle dealing with the financial side of things. These are becoming more normal in college basketball, and I do think it would take some things off the plate of Coach Pope.

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts to the action during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

If he doesn’t turn this season around, next season will be a sink-or-swim type of do-it year for Coach Pope. He will need to find a way to win games, and this will start in the transfer portal. Coach Pope is going to have to hit a home run in the transfer portal, so adding a GM to help with the money side of things might be a good idea.

In the new age of college sports, head coaches are dealing with way more than they were years ago, so getting some staff help is a good idea. Pope should probably check to see if he can pluck a current college GM away or find a person in the NBA who would be a good fit to be a college GM.

I am in agreement with BBN that adding a GM would be a good idea to help this program as Coach Pope tries to find success.