If you listened to Mark Pope all offseason, you heard the same vision over and over: waves of depth, relentless effort, and a team that could win ugly when the shots weren’t falling.
Instead, nine games in, Kentucky looks like the opposite of what he sold.
He built a roster full of so-called defenders and physical wings to change last year’s narrative. The idea was simple: maybe the offense would take a small step back, but the defense and toughness would more than make up for it.
Kentucky basketball's dream roster has turned into a nightmare with no easy fix in sight
What he actually assembled looks like this:
- A team that doesn’t guard consistently, giving up 85 points per games against power 4 teams.