From the NBA to the Bluegrass
Mark Pope is a Kentucky alum and previously won a NCAA national title in 1996 while playing with the team as a starting captain. He continued to play basketball professionally for years until he began on his new journey of coaching. After 5 years at BYU and 2 NCAA tournament appearances, the job to lead the Wildcats squad opened up and his reign has started. Pope is everything you look for in a coach and has shown his presence early starting with a 11-2 record and knocking off top teams in the D1 circuit.
SEC on Notice: Kentucky’s Transfer Portal Haul is INSANE!
Something special about this Kentucky roster is that their whole rotation is transfers and they have clicked earlier rather than later. The transfer portal seems to have worked perfectly for Pope and the Wildcats staff. The top dogs that they were able to capture were Kobe Brea (Dayton), Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Andrew Carr (Wake Forest), Amari Williams (Drexel), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma), Brandon Garrison (Oklahoma State), Ansley Almonor (FDU), and Jaxson Robinson (BYU). Pope usually stays to this 8 man rotation of only transfers and they hav played extremely well with one another. It’s extremely hard to get a team of all new players and have them play as one unit but Pope has done an effective job doing that and the Wildcats are here to make a statement.
Top Transfers: The SECRET Weapons That Will DOMINATE for the Wildcats!
This Wildcats roster has many guys who have done some good things but I want to touch on their key pieces that make or break this team come March. Otega Oweh leads this team on the offensive side of the ball and does just about everything they need. Oweh averages 15.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals. The offensive side of the ball runs through him and he is the key to keeping this dynamic offense alive. Next up is Andrew Carr who is an all around beast for a big man. Carr stands at 6’11 but can extend the defense with his shot and is a huge presence under the rim defensively. He does so many good things at his height that you don’t see many people do. His most impressive performance on the year was against an elite Gonzaga squad where he scored 19 and added on 7 rebounds with 3 assists. Lastly we have the man who followed Coach Pope here from BYU, Jaxson Robinson. Robinson is a highly ranked prospect who has immense upside and has a high draft stock for this year. His athleticism and scoring ability has been sensational throughout his college basketball career and he is a stud. Robinson also showed out well against Gonzaga with a 18 point, 3 rebound, and 5 assist performance. These key guys lead the Wildcats squad on both ends and will drive this team as far as they can go.
The Grind Begins: Conference Play Will Separate the Contenders from Pretenders
Kentucky has started out 11-2 with big time wins over #19 Gonzaga, #4 Duke, and a tough Louisville team. The Wildcats showed what they are capable of but the SEC is no place to hide. In 5 of their next 7 games they play ranked opponents including #6 ranked Florida, #5 ranked Alabama, #13 ranked Texas A and M and #1 ranked Tennessee. We are going to find out early if Pope and the Wildcats are ready to compete and I believe they will be. You do not want to see this team come March because they are only going to get more comfortable and better together as a unit!
