Mark Pope definitively denies report that Kentucky offered Yaxel Lendeborg $9 million
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Kentucky basketball’s season has come to a close. The Wildcats fell to Iowa State on Sunday, ending a season that saw Kentucky without their projected lead guard and center for most of the season.
A good portion of Kentucky’s production this season came to Kentucky by way of the transfer portal. At least, that was the plan. Jayden Quaintance never quite was healthy enough to see meaningful action, and Jaland Lowe suffered an injury in non-conference play that kept him out most of the season.
About a week ago, Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg told AP that Kentucky wanted him to transfer to Lexington, which isn’t really a surprise, given he was one of the most highly-sought after transfers on the market. What was a surprise, though, is that Lendeborg told AP that Kentucky offered him, “$7-9 million” to transfer from UAB to Lexington.
Pope made a pretty definitive statement when the situation was brought up on Monday. “That story is 100 percent categorically false with no truth to it whatsoever,” Pope said, via KSR’s Jack Pilgrim.
In other words, someone is lying or there was a wild misinterpretation at some point in the process of AP running that story, which you can find here.
Kentucky’s season has come to a close, but the Madness is just getting started. Here’s a quick look at the latest odds for each remaining team to win the national title, via Kalshi:
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
