Could Mark Pope hit one out of the park or strike out on the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, Tyran Stokes? We know he’s going to go down swinging one way or another.

Stokes has a final three of Kentucky, Kansas and Oregon with a commitment coming sooner rather than later. Depending on who you ask, any of the three could be seen as the favorite — or trending toward favorite status — and that’s just as the Louisville native likes it. The kid likes keeping the mystery alive, recently seen wearing adidas gear as a Nike athlete, suggesting the Jayhawks could be the choice, along with getting a tattoo while watching old game film for the Wildcats and throwing up an “O” for the Ducks on one of many TikTok Lives.

As Stokes weighs his options, however, Pope is trying to make that choice easy for him by pushing to hire one of the top recruit’s closest mentors.

KSR has learned that three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford was officially offered a job on Pope’s staff in recent weeks. Crawford, who is an assistant at Rainier Beach HS where Stokes is a senior, initially turned down the offer before having second thoughts on the decision. The Kentucky head coach, meanwhile, has continued to push, armed with a pitch of full recruiting autonomy and the chance to continue working with the likely No. 1 pick ahead of the 2027 NBA Draft.

We broke the news on KSR+, and Matt Jones talked about it on radio to open Friday’s show — where he acknowledged the dream is still very much alive for the Wildcats.

“Kentucky two weeks ago offered him that final assistant coach position,” Jones said on KSR. “He turned them down, then they came back about a week ago and said, ‘Will you reconsider?’ And now, apparently, he is actually really reconsidering.”

One hang-up? Crawford is currently an analyst for NBA on NBC and is in the middle of playoff coverage. It’s not something he can drop on the fly to pursue his future in coaching. Will those timelines align with Stokes potentially days away from a commitment? Does he come without confirmation Crawford will be joining him, or vice versa? There are several moving parts at play here, and there is certainly no guarantee any of it gets done, but you have to love Pope’s creative efforts with the top prize of the 2026 class — someone who could ultimately make or break his future in Lexington.

“Why does it matter? Well, A) I think you would add a coolness factor that — I think we could all agree, maybe Mark Pope is not the coolest guy in the world. But B) he’s very close with Tyran Stokes,” he continued. “I actually think part of why you’re trying to hire Crawford is to be the final piece that could get Tyran Stokes to actually come here. I would want him either way.”

The intel is all over the place on where he’s gonna go — again, there are rumblings with all three schools — but does Kentucky actually have a chance? They apparently think so.

“I think the internet has given up too quickly on him. I’m not saying we’re going to get him, I have no idea, but I will tell you — UK, still, as of yesterday, thinks they can get him. They’re still holding, waiting, trying to make it happen. Now they believe — or at least they did believe — that he would decide something by the end of this week. Looking at the calendar, that’s today. I think if he doesn’t, then UK might at some point just have to go, ‘Look, we can’t keep waiting.’

“But I do think they think they have a shot.”

Pulling the Jamal Crawford rabbit out of Pope’s hat would go a long way.