This is an excellent question and one that begs to be answered. It will be interesting to see if CMP's program will have what it takes to retain players from year-to-year. If because of playing time, NIL$$$ and the portal, it turns out that assumptions made by many about roster continuity are incorrect, fans will have to accept this reality. Firstly, we'll see if Garrison, Oweh, Chandler, Perry and Noah all return. I sure hope they do, but am hesitant to "assume" they will. The season needs to play itself out.
Now ... to your question, I would much prefer the portal vets and only a sprinkling (however few that might be) of unproven high school phenoms. My reasoning is simply the predictability: offensively, defensively, maturity, focus, attitude, heart, hunger, effort, etc ..., as opposed to all the unknowns that high school phenoms bring with them. Of course, with that approach, there will be intense pressure to rely on what is available in the portal and it also puts more pressure on recruiting high schoolers before portal candidates are even known or available. Accordingly, roster additions will necessarily have to be a mix of returners, portal transfers and freshmen. With NIL$$$ and the Kentucky brand, CMP's chances for success should be better than most schools, it seems to me ... but I'm not even sure of that. It all depends on what particular players are looking for ...