Kentucky in contact with NBA G League's Dink Pate

Kentucky fans may remember the false report last month of G League player Trentyn Flowers being contacted by the staff. Well, now, they seem to actually be in the mix for another player from there. According to Jacob Polacheck of KSR, NBA G League guard Dink Pate has been contacted by the Kentucky staff.

A pretty surprising development, especially after Mark Pope's comments last night, but when you dig into the weeds of Pate's past, it makes more sense. Pate committed to the NBA G League's Ignite team, which was a developmental team within the league that featured some of the nation's top young prospects out of high school, and Pate was one of them. But, interestingly enough, current Kentucky assistant coach Jason Hart was an assistant coach for the Ignite squad, from 2022-24, and had the opportunity to coach Pate, along with others such as Jaden Hardy, Matas Buzelis, Scoot Henderson, and Ron Holland, among others.

On Wednesday, a report from Jonathan Givony of ESPN surfaced that Pate was "exploring college options," really keeping the door open in case he does not get a guaranteed NBA deal, which is what he is ultimately looking for. According to Givony, Pate has even turned down multiple two-way NBA contracts in order to preserve his eligibility, which according to Pate, he told Polacheck that he believes he has a really good chance at being deemed eligible. In another tweet about Pate's situation as for working to become college eligible, Givony had these facts to point out, even comparing his case to James Nnaji of Baylor as well as Charles Bediako's of Alabama, who the NCAA is going to end up taking on in court. It's worth noting that he says Pate's eligibility wouldn't begin until next season.