BREAKING: Mark Pope Pursuing G League Stud Dink Pate for Kentucky Wildcats, Is It the Right Move?

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Mark Pope and company don't seem too interested in this year's high school recruiting class,

so they're turning to the G-League for their next player.

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All right.

What's going on?

Big blue nation.

Welcome on into Lockdown Kentucky, your daily Kentucky Wildcats podcast.

I'm your host Lance Dawn on today's episode of Lockdown Kentucky.

We are going to be breaking down the latest news surrounding Mark Pope and Dink Pate.

That's right.

Pope took a visit to see Dink Pate just a couple of days ago.

Apparently Kentucky has changed their tune on G-League editions for next season squad.

Also on today's episode, some phenomenal news from Mark Pope.

Cam Williams is actually practicing again.

Could we see him in the next couple of games and then to wrap up the show?

Alabama just got a commitment from a high profile prospect.

Could that open the door for Kentucky to steal Caleb Holt from Arizona?

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Dink Pate knock knock visit from Mark Pope here.

That's right.

He was receiving interest from Kentucky just a couple of months or so ago, I should say.

And Pope traveled to Philadelphia on Wednesday morning to see Dink Pate play for the West

Chester Nix.

This has been reported by a variety of outlets.

I believe KSR Jacob Polichek did some information on this Patrick.

I don't know if it's Cassett or Cassette K or C a S S A T over on Twitter decided to let

everybody know a Pope is in here to see Dink Pate and watch the West Chester Nix play.

So it looks like Pope who doesn't seem to be particularly excited about this high school

recruiting class considering he's not really recruiting at that hard and he's already missed

on a couple of prospects.

He wanted these now going to the G league and I understand there's going to be a ton

of pushback on this because well, he is a professional basketball player.

And honestly, I don't necessarily think it's the greatest thing for the sport.

However, it does need to be mentioned off the top when talking about Dink Pate, a six

foot eight shooting guard, again, at place for the West Chester Nix, a G league squad.

He's 19 years old right now and he did not go to college.

He actually was going to, if I'm not mistaken, go to Louisville.

Actually that might that I'm thinking of a different player.

He actually just straight up went to the G league.

I mean, he was looking at a bunch of different offers from Mike Bama, Arizona, UCF Georgetown

and the like and then he decided to go straight to the G league and he has had an interesting

career so far.

I want to dive into kind of his statistics and different things like that in a second.

But I do want to say off the top here, Kentucky needs scoring and a six foot eight shooting

guard would be really awesome.

And the fact that Mark Pope is now taking the time in the middle of the season, not in

the middle of the season towards the end of the season, do actually go and talk with

Pate, do interact with him, do watch him play shows that Kentucky's got some level of

serious interest in him and the head man is going to actually see what Pate's play is

all about.

We could sit here and discuss whether or not Pate could be a valuable addition.

We'll talk about that in a second.

We could sit here and discuss whether or not Kentucky needs somebody like Pate.

If he's a point guard, if he's a shooting guard, if he's whatever, but I think the more

important thing to me is that Mark Pope is actually going in a direction here.

I think that's the positive thing to take away from this is that Thursday, March 5th.

I'm actually seeing Mark Pope make decisions and make moves and showing this level of interest

in Pate at this moment, I think signifies something important that he is somebody that

I think Pope is very interested in adding if he's going to Philadelphia again in between

games here to actually check out a Pate play.

He told KSR plus back in January, according to Jacob Paul, check front of the show that

he's looking to make to make the move to college basketball this season.

So Pate wants to come play here.

He played for the G league ignite team in 2023, which needs to be noted Jason Hart,

assistant coach or coaching on that on that team.

Also, it also needs to be noted that Pate has a good relationship with Hart and another

Kentucky assistant coach, McClean or you so it there are relationships here for the

cats and then also Pate seems interested in going to Kentucky, a quote from KSR plus

back in January, Pate told KSR plus I'm going to college, but I'm not set in stone

on any school.

If you K likes me, that's where I'd want to go.

I'd like to represent.

I know coach Hart.

That's my guy.

That's my dude.

If they play pro style basketball, I'm going to fit in any type of system.

I'm going to work hard for whatever.

I haven't been paying attention though because we have our own season going on over here.

I know my journey and what I've got going on after this season.

It also needs to be noted that Mark Pope and KSR notes this as well as previously kind

of comments that on G league players basically saying that it might not be the best idea,

but according to Dink Pate, he took it as a positive.

Pate thought that Pope's kind of cool with it and he's 19.

He's not 25, 26 years old.

Everybody else is doing it.

Who's doing it as way older than me?

Pate noted.

He's the exact age as some of the other dudes that are in the system right now.

So Kentucky's got relationships.

He has got interest and there's a lot of reasons why this could be a good match for Kentucky.

It's a six foot eight shooting guard who has honestly been able to develop at a professional

level for three straight seasons.

If you want to go look at his stats instead of just watching some of his games recently,

you can note that he's gone from eight points in his first year in the G league for G league

at night to 10.1 and a second season and now 16.6 points per game on 41% shooting while

shooting 38% from beyond the arc on 8.33 point attempts per game.

He's also averaging almost seven boards a game, 3.7 assists.

And the big issue here is he's almost averaging three turnovers per contest.

And that's kind of what's holding me back from saying he is a point guard.

And there's a lot of conversation on Twitter right now about Dink Pate putting him at

the one for Kentucky.

If he were to commit to the wild cats, if he's going to come to Lexington, he's going

to be running the one.

I don't think that's the case, especially with a low still here in the fold.

Pate plays off plays the one whenever low is not in the lineup possibly,

but I really do see him as a shooting guard who has that playmaking ability.

I would not want to handicap myself to somebody like Pate at the one for the entirety of the season.

I would want depth.

I would honestly want Pate to play a more comfortable position.

And if you go and watch him actually play, he's definitely more of a spot up score.

That would play better off ball.

I would rather keep him off Paul and have somebody set him up.

I'm floor general, somebody who can facilitate a little bit by the better than him,

then him run the offense and have to create his shot off of the dribble.

And I will note about his shot.

It's kind of funny looking.

He's it's very airy.

We talked about this on the show already swings into it.

But it's been working this season and he's grown into some confidence with it.

I wouldn't say mechanically he shoots like a guy like Kevin Durand.

He's got a bit of a wider, well, wider base tighter elbow.

But vibes wise, it's very similar.

He kind of swings into it.

It's a high release point.

It's very flowy.

It's momentum shooting, right?

I would like to see this at Kentucky because he's, you know,

taller than the average player at his position.

He's got the the G league experience and he's got connections to Kentucky.

He would want to actually be here.

And Kentucky needs scoring.

They need shooting.

I would take him.

I just don't know if I would take him in an extremely large role,

because maybe there might be some efficiency concerns.

Maybe some turnover concerns.

I think that could be limited a little bit because of how constrained

the college system could be for him.

There are there are positives here.

Definitely.

And if you want to question about defense, he's actually a negative in terms of

offensive windshares, according to sports reference.

He's actually just barely positive in terms of defensive windshares.

And keep in mind he's going up against professionals every single day.

So maybe there's something there considering his size defensively.

So I there are positives.

There are maybe some concerns.

I would like to see him in a Kentucky jersey.

But I don't know if I would be upset if Kentucky may be weighted,

tried to see what some other options in the transfer portal look like out there.

But there's no denying it.

He's getting interest from Kentucky.

Mark Pope clearly showing interest.

If he's going to see him on Philadelphia on a random Wednesday,

we'll see what happens here.

But just want to let you guys know it's happening.

He's receiving interest.

I am kind of indifferent, but leaning positive.

And I want to know what you guys think.

Would you take Dink Pate?

His name first name is actually Sasha, by the way.

Dink is a nickname, which I think is just awesome.

Let me know in the YouTube comments below.

Okay.

Can Williams, though?

Another six foot eight shooter is practicing for Kentucky right now.

Can you believe it?

After breaking his foot,

non-contact practicing right now.

But he's back out on the floor for Kentucky.

And he's probably going to be out there.

If he does return before Jaden Quinten's returns.

Crazy stuff from Kentucky right now.

And it would be huge, huge for the Wildcats.

Depth for a variety of reasons.

We'll dive into that in just a little bit, though.

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I do want to talk about can Williams here

and just how important he's going to possibly be for Kentucky

and their rotation.

The fact that he's been able to work back so quickly

to the courts to want to play for the cats.

I think is a great sign.

I think that it shows that he actually has some efforts

and want to something that I've criticized this team

for largely not having consistently this season.

And I really like the fact that with somebody like Cam,

despite the slow shooting start, he was able to kind of get hot,

able to maintain a level of efficiency at the beginning of SEC play.

And now here he is wanting to return back.

I think he would be crucial for the cat's rotation

and him dialing in on every detail.

Him trying to get back healthy as quickly as possible,

given it that extra fire.

The I never quit factor.

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Guys, Cam Williams is practicing again.

And I honestly kind of can't believe it.

But it is crazy to me that after a broken foot.

Cam Williams could be returning to the floor for the wild cats.

And it feels like, according to Mark Pope,

that we're a lot closer to camera turning than even Jaden Quaintants.

He had his weekly radio show last night.

And he acknowledged that both JQ and Williams

are working behind the scenes right now trying to get back to play.

He says that Williams is making really, really solid strides.

Quote here.

This is from the Lexington Harold leader.

You could find this quote all over the planet.

You could also go just watch the recap of the show, the radio show.

He said, I think we're a lot closer with Cam right now than we are with JQ.

And so we'll see.

I mean, it's kind of the finish line here.

A lot of it will depend on how Saturday feels and how the SEC tournament goes.

He is also noted that Cam Williams is practicing.

And here's the full quote from Mark Pope.

There's definitely a space and Cam has had a really positive impact on our team.

You know, he hasn't been able to play for quite a while now,

but he also has a skill set where he's had a positive impact on the game.

So he's not exactly fine tuned off even when he's not fine tuned offensively,

just with his length and mobility and his physicality.

He's had a positive impact on us, especially on the defensive end.

I agree.

So we'll see.

He's getting closer.

He had a really good workout yesterday and on contact workout.

And so we'll see where that goes.

We're going to see if we can slip him into a little bit of practice today.

I don't know if he'll get in any contact today, but we're pushing it with him.

But he's also been working incredibly hard.

He's made good progress.

So we'll see.

The question is, once he gets into any type of full speed stuff,

how does he, how does it respond?

And that's going to be the question we'll be asking over the next few days.

I don't think we'll see him against Florida on Saturday.

I would be shocked.

But maybe for the first game of the SEC tournament.

And that would be really big for Kentucky.

I put down on my notes here.

He would be good for two things.

And it has nothing to do with his jump shooting.

I think Kentucky needs him for defense.

And I think they need him to sort of build out this bench depth

as they get closer to March to prevent certain players playing too many minutes.

Kentucky has had a lot of conversation recently.

About their fatigue.

Mark Pope has talked about fatigue.

They're tired.

They're eepy.

They need a little nappy poo sometimes.

And be honest with you, I have a really hard time buying a lot of that.

I said as much as in my most recent episode recap of the Texas A&M loss,

where I'm just like, I'm having a really hard time sitting here going.

Okay.

Denzel Aberdeen and Otago away.

Can't play 37 minutes of game.

Like I don't see how they can't at this point,

considering there's college seniors.

I mean, the conditioning at this point,

it has to be his problem or Mark Pope's fault and the staff's fault

that they are not capable of playing those many minutes.

And if you're not recruiting the type of athletes that could go 37 minutes,

I mean, like what are you doing?

I mean, you don't deserve to be here at Kentucky.

If you can't recruit guys that and condition them to play that long,

especially 30 games in of the season.

Also side note, Denzel Aberdeen only playing 30 minutes against Texas A&M is criminal.

That that just he should have played at least 35.

And yes, those five minutes to three minutes would have mattered for Kentucky.

That would have been huge.

Why do you anyway?

Campbell is needed for defense and for for to build out this this bench step.

Because I'm going to be honest with you and I've talked about it.

And I will continue to say players like Trent Noah and Jasper Johnson are a net negative

on this squad.

They are they just are you can see it in terms of I test neither can handle the ball.

Trent Noah's best asset is his spot up shooting and he has not been able to shoot

an SEC play.

He has been rebounding, grabbing defensive rebounds,

but literally anyone can do that for this team if they actually give a little bit of effort

and want to rebounding as a choice as you have heard.

Trent and I did a deep dive on this.

I think I'm sure he's a great kid.

Just like right now Kentucky can't dive that deep into their bench because it is actively harming them

playing Noah Jasper even garrison extended minutes.

They just consistently do not provide you the lift that you need.

And 30 games in the season you can't just be like we're expecting them to grow.

We're expecting them to go out there and flip a switch.

Like it's just not going to happen if it does.

It's a miracle borderline miracle.

You can't rely on shooting variants for both of these guys to just suddenly

flip a switch.

You also can't rely on them defensively as well.

I think that's an issue and somebody like cam who is a better defender who is more effective

as just an overall player is going to be able to go out there even recovering from a foot injury

and provide you with more stability on your bench from your bench unit, I should say,

which is really, really good for Kentucky to sort of take the burden off of these rotation

players who just simply cannot give you valuable minutes and you can toss them over to cam.

Who at the very least is a net neutral at the very least he's in that neutral.

And if he knocks down a couple of threes, he's he's a net positive.

Absolutely better defender is what I'm looking for.

Maybe giving Kentucky.

Honestly, you talk about giving the starters rest.

I mean, this is an opportunity for Kentucky to give maybe a starter rest and to put Williams in.

It's a great thing for Kentucky just to have somebody who isn't going to throw your lead off

the face of the earth against Texas A&M and someone who can provide you a little bit of stability.

So Cam Williams practicing great news, really, really, really great stuff for Kentucky to possibly

get him back at the most crucial juncture of the season. We'll see what happens.

He's practicing. I'd love to have him back.

It's a little bit different of a situation than JQ Wright where you know the chemistry is there.

Where you know he works well with the team. So I'm excited to see Williams.

If he does return when he does return big stuff.

Caleb Holt, a five star shooting guard that we've talked about a little bit on the show before,

is not exactly out of the picture for Kentucky.

And it's because Alabama continues to go and add players that would play Caleb Holt's role.

I mean, they Alabama has now one of the best classes in the country next season.

And they keep stacking talent.

Can Kentucky beat out Arizona for Caleb Holt?

I want to talk about the current situation there.

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All right, wrapping up today's episode.

Really appreciate you guys tuning in.

Cam Williams is practicing.

Dink Pate is getting a knock on the door from Mark Pope.

And Caleb Holt is not out of the picture.

Now I mentioned at the beginning of the show.

Kentucky doesn't seem too interested in recruiting the 2026 high school class.

That heavily tyrant stokes.

Kind of the only guy we're thinking about right now.

And even that, you can't feel that good about.

But I think the door at the very least has opened

for one of the better prospects in the class.

And that's Caleb Holt.

Number four overall player, six foot five 200 pound shooting guard,

who was looking at Alabama for a long time.

He's from new market Alabama for those for those who you that don't know.

But excuse me.

For those of you that don't know, Jackson Richardson.

A six foot six four star small Ford out of Orlando,

has committed to the Alabama Crimson tide.

Jackson, incredibly athletic, downhill driver,

plays well in transition.

Sounds a lot like Caleb Holt to me.

Just recruited or just committed to Alabama.

And Alabama also has four star shooting guard Quaid and Samuels,

who I believe is a five star on other recruiting services outside of 24 seven sports.

And Terrace Bui, a six foot six shooting guard.

So they have got three different wing types already.

Caleb Holt, I would be shocked if he went to Alabama.

You've got you've got too many guys in the room.

You just have too many players at that at that position that play the same style of ball.

So it looks like

Caleb Holt would then more than likely lean Arizona.

At least that's how most people feel right now.

I think Kentucky's still in this.

They at least the door is open now that one possible player is out of the picture

because they went and added another prospect.

In case you don't know about Holt,

incredible wingspan at six foot five,

physically imposing player on the perimeter with a terrific combination of length,

strength, athleticism, speed, and a wealth of intangibles according to Adam Finkelstein.

Play's hard and poses his will also has great perimeter size.

He's a downhill attacker who plays through contact, has decisive burst on the way to the

right. The rim is a very efficient finisher shot 68% of the rim in three SSB play.

Came up the ranks as a natural wing, but has been working to evolve into more of a true guard.

His ball screen reads have gotten better. He doesn't turn the ball over nearly as much.

His handle is getting better. He's still less comfortable out in the open court with his left hand

and is shooting maybe his biggest swing skill, but it's not like end of the world bad.

It's like hovering around 30% maybe a little bit higher than that.

That sounds like Otega away to me. And if Kentucky wants to replace Otega away

with somebody that plays almost exactly like him and might be a little bit more explosive,

maybe even I don't even know if that's true. I mean Otega is just so smooth,

just glides to the rim. It feels like at times. It was just some really acrobatic,

impressive finishes. If you want somebody that plays the Otega away roll though,

I mean, you are not out of the picture for this prospect. If you want to go knocking on his

door and say, Hey, we'll pay you X amount of money to come here and fill this roll.

I think hope would be great, especially as a two way player who has the physical tools to

develop into something special out in a year. He would be somebody that you add to a

add to a national championship roster, honestly. Like if you want to go get him and Tyron Stokes

and get somebody like dink paint, I mean, like those are three guys, you could feel really

confident in. I would argue honestly on both ends of the floor. Now there are there would be work

to do in the transfer portal outside of that. But if you really are spending 22 million dollars,

you can go get a you can make a roster of like eight players that are really good. You can have

Chandler. You can have Brad Hawthorne here in that mix. You can also have Yellowvitch,

Marino. I mean, like there's a lot of really, really high floor players that you could be excited

about coming in next season. And if you throw Caleb Holton in that mix, I mean, it only gets

sweeter, right? It just it only gets better. I think that Holt, I would take. I would definitely

take him. And if Kentucky's looking at him, I don't see why you don't go pursue him.

All right, that's going to do it for today's episode of the show. Thank you guys so much for

tuning in. You can follow the show on Twitter, it locked on the UK, follow me on Twitter,

at least on the underscore and follow the show over on Instagram. That is that Kentucky podcast

tomorrow. We will be previewing Florida versus Kentucky final game of the regular season. We'll

also tell you about the SEC tournament standings, the hypotheticals that could be worked out there.

Kentucky can be as high as the four as low as the 10. We'll give you all those scenarios tomorrow

on another episode of locked on Kentucky. Hope you guys have a great rest of your day. And God

you

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