Mark Pope sidesteps Yaxel Lendeborg offer talk, blasts media for contributing to Kentucky's 'circus'

Kentucky coach Mark Pope spent the eve of the Wildcats' first-round NCAA Tournament game against Santa Clara on Thursday dancing around whether Michigan All-American Yaxel Lendeborg had turned down a lucrative offer to play for him, and blasted the media for contributing to what he called a “circus” surrounding his program. Instead, Lendeborg said, he chose to play for Dusty May and the Wolverines for about three times less money. Asked point-blank Thursday whether such an offer was made to...

By DAVE SKRETTA