Jack Pilgrim

Yes, people want to represent the name on the front of the jersey and be a part of Kentucky and their tradition and have the platform and compete at the highest level against the hardest competition.

All of those things matter, but at the end of the day, it is a money game.

NIL is king in today's era, and you have to have somebody that accepts that.

That is the baseline of most conversations, that money is how you get in the door, and then it's about the coaches to maintain those relationships and make sure that this is the program that they want to be a part of.

But it's a non-starter if the money isn't where it needs to be, and that's why J-Bat was brought in to make sure the money is where it needs to be.

I missed the first hour, so Jack, if you've already covered this, just give me the Reader's Digest version, and then I have another question as well.

Travis Branham made a crystal ball pick for the Serbia kid.

And then took that down.

Is

You know how the Big Blue Nation is.

That's going to send panic waves and shock waves that he took it down, thinking he's not coming here now.

How much should we read into that?

And secondly, if Jamal Crawford ends up not coming, do you think Derek Anderson might be an option, or do you have any other names that we may look for?

Thanks, and I'll listen.

So if it is not Jamal Crawford, I do think that Pope is going the international route, and I think he's going to hit it hard.

I think that he just knows that it is a whole new world out there of elite talent, like we're talking about with Kusturica.

Like that –

You have to be able to have relationships with those guys to get the foot in the door to be able to strike while the iron is hot when a player of his caliber is ready to come to America and play college basketball.

So I do think that that is a top priority.

And if I had to put my money on it, I think even Jamal Crawford aside, I think that's going to be what ends up being.