The walls are closing in on Mark Pope through Kentucky Wildcats' nightmare offseason

Mark Pope is running out of time to fix the Kentucky Wildcats' leaky ship as the once mighty blue blood vessel takes on more and more water with every recruiting miss.

Pope's recruiting ability once launched BYU basketball forward by several years' worth of development and improvement, hitting the ground running in the team's first year of Big 12 Conference membership. The former Kentucky hooper's coaching peak couldn't have arrived at a more opportune time, either, as his dream job and one of the most coveted positions in all of college basketball -- head coach at the University of Kentucky -- opened up for the first time since 2009.

A passionate alum, a proven head coach, and a budding star in college basketball, Kentucky believed that Mark Pope could continue his upward trajectory with the higher-grade facilities, resources, and prestige of the Kentucky Wildcats' basketball program.

Now approaching his third year at the head of UK hoops, however, Mark Pope is losing the support of Big Blue Nation. After earning an NCAA Tournament 7-seed and getting pulverized in the second round at the hands of the Iowa State Cyclones, Pope's rostered players are exiting through the transfer portal in droves, and the cracks in the foundation are eclipsing critical levels of severity. Rumors of his personality making recruits and coaches uncomfortable, and failure to secure high-quality players through the transfer portal, are leaving the once-proud institution of Kentucky basketball in complete disarray.

The walls are beginning to close in. What is going on with Mark Pope's Kentucky program, and are his days numbered?

The Rob Wright turning point

If you'll excuse my verbiage, this is where it really hit the fan. Ironically enough, the most outrage-inducing moment of Kentucky's nightmare offseason was Pope's failure to outdo his former program in a tug-of-war for 5-star point guard Rob Wright III.

With Wright's decision down to two options, Kentucky or a return to Provo, all signs pointed to Lexington. On3's crystal ball pointed Kentucky's way, and several reports confirmed that Mark Pope was right on track to secure Wright's commitment and stabalize his program's rocking ship. With an official visit under way, everything was falling according to plan for the former BYU guard to transfer to his third program in as many years.

But as the visit progressed, the ground began to rumble with rumors that Wright was experiencing a change of heart, and that BYU was picking up momentum to retain their point guard. Whatever was going on during Wright's trip to Lexington, he was experiencing a sudden change of heart.

All hell broke loose when Wright announced he'd return to Provo for his junior season, stating, "Ultimately, I just wanted to play for [Kevin Young]."

He twisted the knife on Mark Pope when he added, "I didn't think I wanted to play for another coach."

Pope's program is unblessed

Mark Pope is losing the faith of his fanbase, and he's losing it rapidly.

"Where is the rest of it? [...] I need more!" John Martin ranted on The Field of 68 podcast. "I'm very much out on this offseason for Mark Pope, and I'm close to out on the tenure. It just hasn't taken off in the way that Kentucky basketball is supposed to take off."

Kentucky basketball is used to high-end talent. Mark Pope is struggling to reach his quota. Kentucky basketball is used to winning at the highest level. He has yet to prove that he can deliver to the Wildcats' standards.

By any stretch, the early returns from Mark Pope have been discouraging for a program that had grown accustomed to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the very best in the nation. The growing sentiment is no longer if, but when the decision makers in the UK athletic department decide they've seen enough.

It's a nightmare for the former BYU head coach. And while there's still time to right the ship, the top half of that hourglass is nearly empty.

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