When Mark Pope arrived at Kentucky, he had a massive job on his hands. John Calipari had left, taking four of his Wildcats with him to Arkansas. Kentucky needed a reset, and Pope delivered. He brought in nine new faces to kickstart a new era. But after a Sweet 16 exit in this year’s Big Dance, tensions are starting to rise.

Kerr Kriisa was one of the big names Mark Pope brought in last year. After averaging 11 points with West Virginia, expectations were sky-high among Kentucky fans. But Kriisa couldn’t deliver. He got injured in December and played just nine games in a Kentucky jersey. Now, the senior guard has his sights set on entering the transfer portal. A huge loss for Kentucky!

Kriisa is set to join his fourth collegiate program since 2020. The Estonia native started at Arizona in 2020 before transferring to West Virginia in 2023. Then to Kentucky last year.

Kriisa took to X to announce his departure in a heartfelt message: “I will always cherish my time in the Blue Grass State, and I wish Kentucky Basketball all the best in the future.” Fans were clearly unhappy with this move and didn’t hold back from blaming Pope. Let’s take a look at some of their reactions.

Fans fume as Kerr Kriisa decides to leave Mark Pope and co

Fans were outraged when news surfaced about Kriisa entering the portal. And most of that anger was directed at Mark Pope. “Pope can’t even retain guys wow” commented a fan with another fan joining in the discussion saying, “Pope can’t even keep his guys 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Maybe being a wildcat ain’t all that 😭😭😭😭😭” 

Did Mark Pope lose his dressing room? There were certain indications when Pope himself admitted that he broke a few furnitures after Kentucky lost back to back games to Arkansas and Ole Miss. “has mark pope lost the locker room??” asked a fan when the news broke out and it could very well be true. Kentucky isn’t used to losing this many SEC games. But injuries piled up, and the Wildcats dropped eight conference matchups this season. It’s not a surprise that furnitures were broken.  But lashing out at your players has it’s own after affects and Kriisa’s decision to leave could be a direct result of that.

There’s another way to look at this. Kerr Kriisa was never guaranteed a starting spot next season. Kentucky already has Otega Oweh, Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, and Koby Brea. Most of them are seniors, but they could opt for their extra year of eligibility–just like Kriisa. If that happens, Kerr’s minutes would’ve been limited. He was only averaging 17 minutes per game this season and those minutes would likely be the same next season as well. This is also confirmed by one the fans who says, “Lol, this has been known for weeks. He wasn’t going to start next year. It was a mutual decision made when he applied for the medical red shirt.”

On top of that there are fans who think Kentucky are getting a new guard in his place. “lol the non ball knowers in the comments act like Pope tried to keep him. We are getting a better PG in the portal,” said one fan. Who could the Wildcats possibly get? RJ Luis is the highest rated prospect to enter the portal so far but the deal doesn’t look likely. Who else then? Fans certainly have a pick in mind! “Clearing some cap space for Braden Smith I see” commented one fan who is hopeful that the Purdue guard will make the switch. It remains to be seen which side is speaking the truth here, whatever it maybe, Mark Pope has a big job in hand to assemble a team that can match the lofty standards of Kentucky.