The Kentucky Wildcats are coming off the first year of the Mark Pope era. A former Kentucky player himself, Pope appears to be the ideal replacement for longtime head coach John Calipari. In his debut season, Pope led the Wildcats to the Sweet Sixteen, where they eventually fell to rival Tennessee—despite having defeated the Volunteers twice during the regular season.
This offseason, Pope and his staff have made it a priority to target top talent from the transfer portal—and they've delivered. The latest addition to the roster is Florida transfer Denzel Abderdeen, whose commitment is seen as the final piece of the puzzle for Kentucky.
“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today meant they've moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylen Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process—but I expect him back in Lex,” Matt Norlander posted.
It was reported that Abderdeen entered the portal primarily for financial reasons.
“Denzel Abderdeen's departure had little to do with the addition of Princeton transfer PG Xaivian Lee and was far more about finances/NIL,” Jeff Goodman wrote.
However, Abderdeen’s father later stated that the decision was also influenced by a lack of belief from Florida head coach Todd Golden.
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“He hasn’t really shown what he can do. You could see spurts of it at Florida and even previously, but he wants a coach who believes in him,” his dad said.
During an interview with CBS’s Jon Rothstein, Pope made a bold promise to Kentucky fans regarding Abderdeen’s potential this coming season.
“You know it’s hard to have a breakout season after you just won a national championship, but he’s going to have a big time breakout season,” Pope told Rothstein.
Abderdeen was projected to have a breakout year with the Gators, but now he’ll aim to do so in a Kentucky uniform. And Pope is confident he’s found a special player.