At times, last season’s Kentucky men’s basketball team lacked the physicality and toughness it needed to reach the ultimate goal. An endless string of injuries played a real role in that, but the roster itself was more built on shooting and skill as opposed to one that could tap into a mean streak at any point and outright bully opponents into losses.
Mark Pope made a concerted effort to merge those two identities in the offseason with how he attacked the transfer portal and high school ranks. And while we’ll still need to wait and see how that added physicality plays out on the hardwood in games that count, if practices this offseason have been any indication, we won’t be waiting long before it shows up.