Mark Pope has another roster loaded with names, numbers and upside. ESPN still isn’t ready to buy all the way in.
In Jeff Borzello’s updated Way-Too-Early Top 25, Kentucky landed at No. 19, which is two spots lower than before. That’s after the Wildcats brought in one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal and reworked their starting group around veteran production. Even with that kind of overhaul, seven SEC teams still sit ahead of Kentucky in the national picture.
Florida checks in at No. 1, with Texas up to No. 4. Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama, Missouri and Vanderbilt are also ranked ahead of the Wildcats.
The biggest reason Kentucky still has people talking is Milan Momcilovic. Borzello described the Iowa State transfer as “the best player in this past transfer portal,” and that kind of praise goes a long way toward explaining why the Wildcats remain a team worth watching despite the middling ranking.
Momcilovic, a 6-foot-8 forward, put up 16.9 points per game at Iowa State. He gives Kentucky a real scoring anchor, and his size-plus-shooting package should make him the focal point of Pope’s offense.
ESPN’s projected starting five also includes Washington transfer Zoom Diallo, Furman transfer Alex Wilkins, international addition Ousmane N’Diaye and returning center Malachi Moreno.
Diallo averaged 15.7 points per game last season. Wilkins was even more productive at Furman, finishing at 17.8 points per game.
N’Diaye, meanwhile, averaged 9.8 points while playing for Cremona in Italy’s Serie A. On paper, there’s no shortage of experience or production.
The issue is putting all of it together quickly enough.
Borzello pointed to the development of Kentucky’s “dual-point guard attack” with Diallo and Wilkins as one of the major early storylines. Neither player was with the Wildcats last season, so the challenge will be figuring out how they split the ball-handling duties while still keeping Momcilovic involved.
The nonconference schedule won’t give Kentucky much room to ease in. ESPN highlighted the Dec. 2 road game at Virginia as the Wildcats’ key matchup outside the league. By then, Pope should have about a month to settle on his rotation before taking his team to Charlottesville.
Virginia comes in at No. 13 and returns four of its top six scorers, which gives the Cavaliers an obvious chemistry edge. Kentucky, on the other hand, will still be trying to mesh another new group of transfers and international additions around Moreno.
That’s not the only major test waiting. The Wildcats open the Champions Classic against No. 22 Kansas on Nov. 10, a game that will put Momcilovic across from Kansas freshman Tyran Stokes in a matchup ESPN framed as the No. 1 transfer versus the No. 1 freshman.
Kentucky will also host No. 12 Louisville on Dec. 12, adding another heavyweight date to the calendar.
So yes, the talent is there. If Momcilovic hits like an All-American candidate, Kentucky could easily outplay a No. 19 spot. But ESPN’s ranking makes the same point plenty of observers are making right now: the Wildcats have rebuilt fast, and now they have to prove the pieces actually fit.
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For Kentucky fans, it is the kind of late-summer checkpoint that says more about direction than depth charts. Steins arrival has already shifted the tone around the program, and the Wildcats are trying to carry that energy into a new season while the schools basketball scene also had its own recent disappointment, with La Familia falling in the title game of The Basketball Tournament. The focus now belongs to football, and the first test is just ahead. [Read more 🡒]