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Bill Self stole Mark Pope’s candy. Up until fall, Tyran Stokes was set to join Kentucky, with Mark Pope being the favorite to land the No. 1 recruit. Yet, the early signing period went without any news on the Stokes front. Then, Kansas turned up the heat on their recruitment and surged to become the favorite. However, Pope rallied by getting Stokes to visit Lexington. Ultimately, the die has fallen in favor of Self. But landing Stokes wasn’t just about out-recruiting Kentucky and Oregon, it came with another twist.
Bill Self now has two potential No. 1 draft picks. This year it was Darryn Peterson, who has topped multiple mock drafts but is still battling with AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer for that tag. Now, Self has signed the No. 1 prospect of the 2027 class, Tyran Stokes, who could be the No. 1 pick in 2027. His recruitment has earned a mark of approval from college basketball insider Jeff Goodman.
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“It’s miraculous. Think about this—he just took a Nike kid and got him to sign. That’s the underrated part of all this. This might be one of the greatest recruiting jobs Bill Self has done,” Goodman said on the‘Could Be Wrong’ Podcast’. “Taking a Nike kid away from Oregon and Kentucky and getting him to an Adidas school is insane.”
Stokes has a multiyear deal with Nike, which initially earned Oregon and Kentucky a nod ahead of Kansas since they are Nike schools. However, Stokes maintained that his NIL deal with Nike did not affect his college decision. “No. I mean, look at Coop (Cooper Flagg), he signed with New Balance and he went to Duke,” he said. “I didn’t hear anything about that. I don’t know why people are making a big deal about me, but it is what it is.”
Yet, it remains as an undercurrent. Krystan Peak of NBA.com claimed that Stokes “hated” Adidas shoes. Enough that it was “hurting Kansas’ pitch.” Of course the synergy helps in merchandising and branding for both the school and the player. Self managed to…
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Publish date : 2026-04-30 10:30:00
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