When Mitch Barnhart hired Mark Pope to be Kentucky's next head basketball coach, it was well known that he was elite when it came to X's and O's. The question about Coach Pope was whether or not he would be able to recruit some of the elite five-star players Kentucky fans have come a custom to over the last decade.
One player who Coach Pope and the staff are after is four-star small forward Tounde Yessoufou. Coach Pope met up with Yessoufou this weekend, and he played well at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, where he was even listed as a top performer. Hearing from recruits, it is clear that Coach Pope is doing a good job of building relationships, which is such an important part of recruiting high school players.