Breaking news: Kentucky basketball team send a brutal message to head coach Mark Pope.
For Mark Pope, the basketball coach at Kentucky, the past 365 days have been quite the roller coaster. He was appointed head coach at his alma mater, Kentucky, following the conclusion of the 2023–2024 season with Brigham Young University.
Pope got some terrible news after the Wildcats had a 24-12 season that saw them make it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.
The 2025–2026 season roster construction will be hampered by the news. One of the best prospects has decided to open up his recruitment and decommit.
Jonathan Giovany of DraftExpress claims that Acaden Lewis will find a new home with his skills.
“This was an incredibly difficult decision, but I have to do what’s best for my future,” Lewis remarked in reference to his decommitment. “Thank you to Coach Pope and the whole Kentucky staff for all they’ve done for me so far.”
According to On3, he is the fifth-ranked point guard in the 2025 high school class. Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., was where he played basketball in high school. He received 29 offers and made eight trips before deciding to attend Kentucky.
Lewis is a far superior shooter than those statistics suggest, even if he only made 31% of his threes during EYBL competition.
He tried over seven three-pointers a game, hit 83% of his free throws, and gave off the impression that he was not just a movement shooter but also had gravity spotting up.
Pope is the 23rd head coach at the University of Kentucky. The Wildcats were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by SEC opponent Tennessee.
The Wildcats are trying to make it to the Final Four for the first time since 2015. Throughout its history, Kentucky has advanced to the Final Four 17 times and won eight NCAA Tournament titles.
