Kentucky Hired a 'Director of Roster Management.' Here's Why That Matters.

On March 26, Kentucky announced the hiring of Keegan Brown as Director of Roster Management — a new position that didn't exist under Calipari, or any previous Kentucky coach. Brown spent five seasons with Pope at BYU and most recently worked as a video coordinator with the Milwaukee Bucks' G League affiliate. His job description tells you everything about where college basketball is heading: transfer portal evaluation, roster construction, NIL strategy, analytics integration, and agent relations. This is the front-office-ification of college basketball. And at Kentucky — where $22 million in NIL spending produced a 22-14 season — it might be the most important hire Pope makes this offseason.