One of the hot topics around college sports now is the NIL money these programs are spending on their teams. Fans of programs that spend a lot of NIL money feel that the money put into the roster should lead to more wins. Kentucky fans have heard for years now that Mark Pope has had a very expensive roster every year, he has been in Lexington, but especially last year.
Well, according to Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports, Pope and the Wildcats are among the top spenders this season as well. Tier one on this list from Trotter was the teams that spent over 20 million on their rosters, and the Wildcats fell under this category. The teams in this first tier that spent 20 million or more on their roster for this season are Kentucky, Texas, Texas Tech, Illinois, North Carolina, Florida, Duke, Michigan, Tennessee, Louisville, and St. John's.
Of these teams, the Wildcats are ranked 10th out of 11 when it comes to the preseason AP Poll. Another very interesting part about this article from CBS Sports was the average cost of a college basketball roster broken down by conference. The average SEC basketball roster costs 17.3 million dollars, which is the most of any conference. This goes to show how much basketball has changed in the SEC.
Knowing that Coach Pope and the Wildcats are up with the big dogs in roster cost, the Wildcats have to have a good season this year. Fans do seem somewhat skeptical about this team, but with all of the upside Pope has, it is a team that will take some time to come into its own.
It is important that Coach Pope and the Wildcats go on a run in the NCAA Tournament. In year one, the Wildcats made the Sweet 16, which was great. In year two, the Wildcats lost in the Round of 32, and it took a miracle for them to get there. The standard in Lexington is much higher, and Coach Pope needs to reach that standard this season.
Kentucky will take on a bunch of the teams this season that are alongside them in tier one of the NIL money spent this season. In games like this, BBN will learn a lot about the talent evaluation that went into this roster for the staff. It's a very important time for Kentucky basketball to get back to the top.
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