When Kentucky hired Mark Pope, critics didn’t hold back. His résumé was solid but hardly elite: a 211–120 career record, no prior NCAA Tournament wins, and stops at Utah Valley and BYU. Yet by the end of Year 1 in Lexington — a 24–12 season capped by a Sweet 16 run — those doubts had largely evaporated. Especially when you consider everything that Pope went through.
Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa, and Jaxson Robinson all missed significant time with injuries. Kerr never played after January, Butler played injured the second half of the season; and Robinson had to be shut down for the year due to a wrist injury.