Kentucky coach addresses Yaxel Lendeborg's $7-$9 million NIL declare

[ad_1] Kentucky Wildcats males’s basketball head coach Mark Pope is dealing with an extended offseason after one other early exit within the NCAA Event.

No. 7 seed Kentucky misplaced to No. 2 seed Iowa State 82-63 within the Spherical of 32 on Sunday on the Enterprise Middle in St. Louis, Mo. A day later, Pope spoke to reporters, and one query was requested about Michigan star Yaxel Lendeborg’s declare of receiving an NIL provide from Kentucky within the $7 million-$9 million vary.

Pope strongly shut down that report, saying it's “false.”

“I don’t need to spend all my time chasing out, chasing all of the false tales and proper him. I truly don’t need to be a truth examine, however tales like that, for instance, that story is 100% categorically false with no reality to it in any respect,” Pope stated, through Keith Taylor of The Related Press.

Pope added that there are quite a lot of false narratives whereas mentioning that “tales like that simply aren’t true.”

Lendeborg, who spent the earlier two seasons at UAB, transferred to Michigan final offseason. Previous to the NCAA Event, the Wolverines’ star informed the AP that Kentucky’s provide began within the $7M-$9M vary, in order that got here straight from Lendeborg himself.

“They began the quantity with $7 to 9 (million),” Lendeborg stated. “They have been just about going off on the route like we’ll pay him something to get right here.”

It’s fairly an announcement from Pope, particularly with Lendeborg stating in any other case.

Kentucky’s blowout loss to Iowa State has some questioning whether or not or not Pope is the correct coach for this system.

A yr in the past, Kentucky made the Candy 16, however the Wildcats misplaced to Tennessee. At first of SEC play this yr, followers wished Pope fired after a winless begin, however issues slowly improved with the Wildcats making March Insanity.