ESPN’s latest read on Kentucky basketball next season paints a wide-open picture for Mark Pope’s third year in Lexington - and the gap between the Wildcats’ floor and ceiling is enormous.
Pope has spent the offseason reshaping the roster after a year in which Kentucky didn’t look quite like itself. Last season, the Wildcats drifted away from the identity that defined Pope’s best work: a team that can really score through shooting.
In his first SEC season at Kentucky, the issue was physicality and athleticism. The response, though, may have gone too far the other way, with the roster lacking the kind of shooters that usually make Pope’s teams hum.
This time around, the build looks much more like his vision. Kentucky has a top 20 roster loaded with players who fit the system, with knock-down shooting at the center of it all. Milan Momcilovic leads the way, and he’s joined by legitimate playmakers around him.
That’s the backdrop for ESPN’s Myron Medcalf ranking the floor and ceiling for every SEC team next season. For Kentucky, the low end is a 20-win season, an eighth-place finish in the league, and a first-round NCAA Tournament exit. The high end is far more ambitious: 30 wins, a second-place SEC finish, and a trip to the Elite Eight.
Medcalf pointed directly to the stakes around Pope’s roster construction.
"Last season, Kentucky reportedly spent $20 million on its roster -- then finished in a three-way tie for seventh place in the SEC," Medcalf said. "The injuries didn't help, but the season overall was largely viewed as a failure, considering the preseason hype.
Facing questions about his future, Mark Pope managed to make some moves this past offseason: He grabbed former Iowa State star Milan Momcilovic (16.9 PPG, 49% from beyond the arc), the best player in the transfer portal, and convinced standout center Malachi Moreno to return for his sophomore season. How those moves play out over the course of this campaign will have a sizable impact on Pope's hot seat status."
For Kentucky fans, the pressure point is obvious. BBN watched Pope deliver a Sweet 16 in year one, then follow it with a second season that was far more uneven and ended with a second-round exit. The regular season had its share of rough and embarrassing moments, which only raises the expectations for what comes next.
Pope has built this roster with one goal in mind: getting the Wildcats back on track with a group that actually matches how he wants to play. Whether that turns into a real bounce-back season is still the big question, and from the national view, Kentucky remains one of the more unpredictable teams in the country until the games start.
In Other News...
Kentuckys Linebacker Situation Just Took A Turn Fans Need To Watch
Kentuckys linebacker room got a notable update this week when Will Stein said Antonio OBerry has exhausted his eligibility and will not play this season. The news narrows the defensive options at a position where depth always matters, especially as teams try to settle roles and build continuity heading into the stretch run of camp and into the fall.
Alex Afari Jr. offers a possible boost, though his situation is still in flux. He has rejoined the Wildcats and is back at practice while waiting on NCAA clarification about whether he can play a potential fifth season, after spending four years at Kentucky and taking part in an NFL rookie minicamp without signing with a team. For Kentucky, it leaves one spot clearly closed and another still hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]
CJ Works Is Giving Kentucky Fans A New Defensive Reason To Watch
Cedric CJ Works has started to emerge as one of the more intriguing pieces of Kentuckys defense, and not just because he got on the field in every game last season. With the Wildcats installing a more aggressive scheme under new defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, the sophomore is expected to take on the JACK role, a spot that asks for speed, edge pressure and enough versatility to bother offenses in a few different ways. It is the kind of assignment that can put a young defender on the radar quickly if the talent matches the opportunity.
Defensive line coach Anwar Stewart has already raised the ceiling talk by comparing Works to former Kentucky standout Josh Allen, which is the sort of praise that naturally gets attention in Lexington. Works, for his part, sounds eager for the challenge and believes the new system can help him take a step forward, even while acknowledging he still has plenty of room to develop. For a Kentucky defense looking for new playmakers, that combination of opportunity, confidence and upside is worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Defense Gets A Mixed Update Fans Will Be Watching Closely
Kentuckys defense got a mixed early-week update as Will Stein sorted through two familiar names with very different short-term paths. Transfer edge rusher Antonio OBerry will not be available after the NCAA ruled him ineligible because he has already completed five seasons of college football, trimming one option from the Wildcats pass-rush plans before he ever got a chance to settle in.
There was better news for former linebacker Alex Afari, who has been cleared to practice with the team as Kentucky waits on his competition status. Afari was a significant part of the Wildcats defense before, so even the possibility of getting him back into games would matter, but for now the final piece of that return still hangs in the balance. [Read more 🡒]