Trent Noah is making a strong early case for himself in Kentucky’s summer work, and Mark Pope says nobody on the roster has been better through the first month of camp.
That’s a notable turn for a player whose sophomore season never really got off the ground. Noah flashed real promise as a freshman and gave Big Blue Nation reason to believe he could grow into a long-term shooting threat, but his shot deserted him last season. The slump hit especially hard in SEC play, and the result was a tougher path to minutes.
Even so, Noah has kept one clear calling card: he rebounds. That part of his game has already shown up in Lexington, and if the rest of his offensive package catches up, he can still carve out a real role for Kentucky.
The formula is simple. If the shots fall, his rebounding makes him useful.
Pope made it clear this week on KSR that he sees more than just a rebounder. “Trent Noah, man.
He’s been the best player on our roster the first four weeks of camp. He tweaked a hamstring yesterday, which is a nothing.
But believe us or not, he’s leading us in defensive impact metrics right now. We talk about growing players.
Trent is in his third year here. He has completely devoted and dedicated himself to Kentucky basketball and getting better.
We’ll see the fruits of that growth. It’s players like Trent Noah, and you watch them rise up and build a relationship over years.
He’s going to be super special this year. I’m super proud of him.
He is going to have an impact on this roster for sure.”
There’s still plenty of debate around Noah among Kentucky fans. Some are all in because he’s a Kentucky native and want to see him succeed.
Others aren’t convinced he should be on the floor. But the expectation is that he’ll get minutes at the two this season, and that looks like the best fit for him.
If Noah keeps rebounding at a high level, starts knocking down threes again, and continues to trend up defensively the way Pope described, he can absolutely become a playable piece for this team. For a player coming off a rough sophomore year, that would be the kind of bounce-back Kentucky has been waiting to see.
In Other News...
Will Steins First Kentucky Season Just Got Even More Brutal
Will Steins first season in Lexington is already shaping up to be a grind, and the early read on Kentuckys 2026 slate only sharpens that reality. ESPN FPI has the Wildcats at No. 4 in the country for schedule difficulty, a brutal backdrop for a coach trying to establish a new identity while navigating a league schedule loaded with Alabama, Texas A&M, South Carolina and a long list of other familiar SEC headaches.
The challenge is obvious, but so is the reason for some optimism around the program. Stein has already started to build momentum on the recruiting trail, including a promising 2027 class, and his track record at Oregon gives Kentucky reason to believe the long-term picture can improve even if the short-term road is steep. The question now is how much patience the Wildcats will need if the results in year one get tested by one of the toughest slates in the sport. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Just Entered A Massive Battle For A Surging Elite Guard
Kentucky has jumped into the mix for one of the fastest-rising guards in the 2027 class, extending a scholarship offer to NaVarro Bowman Jr. after his recent surge on the national stage. The point guard helped lead the USA U17 National team to a gold medal, and his profile has only grown as major programs across the country continue to circle.
Bowmans recruitment is still in its early stages, but the list of suitors is already starting to look like a heavyweight fight. He is lining up official visits to Arizona and Texas, with North Carolina and Illinois also in the mix, giving Kentucky an immediate chance to make up ground in a race that figures to stay crowded for a while. [Read more 🡒]