The rush of initial skepticism that greeted Mark Pope’s hiring at Kentucky gave way to optimism over the last few months as Pope assembled his first roster at his alma mater following five seasons at BYU. Unlike his predecessor — John Calipari — so often did, Pope won’t be relying on five-star freshmen.
Instead, it will be a cast of veteran transfers tasked with getting the Pope era off to a strong start. Not a single scholarship player from UK’s 2023-24 roster returns, and six of the newcomers are on their fifth season of college basketball.
Of the 12 scholarship players on Kentucky’s roster, only five have eligibility remaining beyond the 2024-25 season. Three of those with multiple seasons of eligibility remaining are freshmen who may struggle to earn significant playing time this season. So while most members of UK’s 2024-25 rotation won’t be around long, they will be suiting up for a pivotal season in program history.
The standard remains high at Kentucky — despite the program’s lack of recent NCAA Tournament success — and it’s on Pope to craft a team that can compete for an SEC title and progress in the Big Dance as he seeks to build momentum. As college basketball’s offseason player movement cycle stops for good, it’s time to start breaking down the rosters of the sport’s top programs. For this installment, we’re taking a look at the Wildcats and trying to decipher what their lineup could look like when the season begins.
Projected starting lineup
1. Lamont Butler
6-2 | 204 | Gr.
Butler made the Mountain West’s all-defense team three times during four seasons at San Diego State, which makes him a nice change of pace from Kerr Kriisa, who is his top competitor for the job. The trade-off is that he’s a less-effective 3-point shooter. But having both Butler and Kriisa on the roster is an example of how Pope has options for how to play based on matchups and situations.
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