"$20 million down the drain": Fans disappointed by Mark Pope's restructured Kentucky roster feat. Denzel Aberdeen

Mark Pope's first season at Kentucky did not go as planned. The Wildcats finished with a 24-12 overall record and an early exit in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Pope has been tasked with assembling an almost brand-new roster, with only a few players returning from last season's team.

Kentucky has already added eight new players, including Florida transfer Denzel Aberdeen, and reports indicate that the program is willing to spend big on their roster for the next season.

On Wednesday, Bleacher Report Hoops shared on Instagram the roster Mark Pope and staff have compiled so far this offseason. The post also asked fans to weigh in on the reloaded roster.

Here are some of the reactions from fans:

"20 millions down the drain ," one fan wrote, referring to the rumored budget for the roster.

"It went from cope with pope to “this is what 20 million looks like" Yeah everyone knows what the deal is," another fan wrote.

"Gonna be the best 3 seed to lose to a 14 seed in recorded history," a user wrote.

"Don’t even look that good," one fan wrote.

"They will never understand what Culture is," one wrote.

"Not sure this is better than last years team tbh," another wrote.

Fans commented on Instagram (@br_hoops/IG)

Analyst downplays $20 million rumor, confirms Mark Pope's Kentucky budget far less

According to rumors, Mark Pope's second Kentucky roster would include a $20 million budget. That will make the Wildcats the highest-paid team in college basketball next season.

ESPN analyst Dick Vitale also addressed the rumor on X, saying college sports have become "a farce" due to the amount of NIL money spent by schools.

However, Matt Jones, host of Kentucky Sports Radio, debunked that number on his show Wednesday.

"I can say fairly definitively—I rarely say definitively—definitively, that is not true," Jones said, via On3. It is a substantially less number. Now it’s a high number. It may be the highest number in college basketball. It probably is. But it is nowhere near that number.

"The idea that [Kentucky was] going to have a 20 million dollar roster, which would be 10 million dollars more than any other team, is not the case."

Pope's incoming roster is taking shape. Five players have joined the Wildcats via the transfer portal—Aberdeen, Mouhamed Dioubate, Jayden Quaintance, Jaland Lowe, and Kam Williams—while three will join as freshmen.