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Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope walks onto the court Thursday, March 27, 2025, during practice ahead of the Sweet 16 March Madness tournament game against the Tennessee Volunteers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Mark Pope's use of big men could lead a five-star center to Kentucky

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Wyatt Huff | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 7:30 AM ET

One of Kentucky's top overall targets in the class of 2026 just wrapped up his official visit in Lexington this past weekend in top 15 prospect Arafan Diane. The big man has a very busy visit schedule on his hands and took time to sit down with Kentucky Wildcats on SI to recap the visit and his thoughts on the Kentucky program.

Diane, who is now ranked as the top overall big man in the class, has made a massive jump in just a short time, as his stock absolutely took off as the summer went on. Mark Pope has certainly taken notice of that as the interest between the two sides have only grew since the staff got eyes on him in Omaha at an Adidas event in July. Also since then, Pope has been able to build that relationship, and on Diane's visit, he was able to make his pitch.

Pope really sees a lot of similarities between Amari Williams and Diane, a player who he believes fits his system and can used a lot on offense. "He told me (Amari's) got the same size and he wants me to play like that. He's got the same stuff. He told me you want to play like that, like (Amari Williams). He told me I'm not a selfish guy."

Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Aside from Pope's vision for Diane, the top-ranked big man spoke in-depth on his impressions of the Kentucky program following his visit.

"I'm embracing everything. Kentucky is a different school, big school. big fanbase, big showcase. It's everything like that. People want to visit Kentucky. And the experience in practice, I see guys talking, talking about their goal, guys liking each other, and a great coach in Mark Pope. ...I'm telling you, Mark Pope is really interested in me. He's a good person and a funny guy."

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

What is Diane looking for in a school as he continues taking his visits? "Just a good relationship. And because I'm a competitive guy, every time I want to win." The five-star big man also noted that each of his five finalists, Kentucky, Houston, Arkansas, Virginia, and Indiana all have winning cultures and that is important to him, as well as the team's history with their big men, focusing on how they will develop him.

The 7-foot big man also discussed other schools involved, saying Houston, Arkansas and Virginia, as well as the Wildcats, are all recruiting him the hardest. As for Houston, Diane has had a relationship with head coach Kelvin Sampson and the staff there longer than any of his other finalists, but Kentucky's high-level interest has them right in the thick of things. As far as other visits, Diane still has two upcoming ones to Arkansas this weekend and Virginia the next.

Kentucky is seen to be in a good spot as far as Diane's finalists go, and they'll be looking to continue pushing for him as he continues taking visits.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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