With his roster largely in place after a busy off-season of recruiting and working the transfer portal, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope can barely hide his excitement about Year 2 with the Wildcats.
Speaking with the local media on Tuesday, Pope described his new team as "competitive, deep, and skilled."
"I think the guys who have chosen to be here are guys who are just starving to come test themselves every single day in practice, to come get better," he said. "I've got hungry, hungry, hungry guys. I've got guys who have really unique, distinguishable skillsets that fit us really well, so, man, I'm excited about this group. This is going to be a really special group."
Kentucky is expected to return four players from last year's Sweet 16 squad -- senior guard Otega Oweh (who is currently testing the NBA waters with a draft combine invite), junior center Brandon Garrison, sophomore wing Collin Chandler, and sophomore swingman Trent Noah.
"I think for us, the thing that sticks out the most to me, is that our guys make a massive jump from Year 1 to Year 2," Pope said. "Wherever I've coached, Year 2 is so fun because Year 1 is just this onslaught of learning decision-making... Learning how to make decisions takes a lot of time and understanding the why and where and how, and the skillset to actually do it, and what works and what doesn't, and what works with your individual skillset as a player.
"Guys coming in second year for me, almost without fail, they take massive leaps. We expect these players to be much, much better, which is saying a lot because they were really good last year."
Pope expects Oweh to be one of the best players in the country if he returns to Lexington as currently projected by most draft analysts. He says Chandler, who ended his freshman season on a high note, could be a great example of the Year 2 leap. "He's so hungry right now."
He also noted that Garrison could be poised to be a leader on next year's team, having learned from Amari Williams this season, and that Noah "is made different." Another player who could look much different with another year under his belt.
They'll be joined by a freshman class that includes in-state products Jasper Johnson (wing) and Malachi Moreno (center), and seven transfer portal players. The Cats signed one of the best portal classes in the country, landing point guard Jaland Lowe from Pitt, guard Denzel Aberdeen from Florida, forward Mouhamad Dioubate from Alabama, wing Kam Williams from Tulane, center Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State, Euro big man Andrija Jelavic from Croatia, and center Reece Potter from Miami (Ohio).
Pope said a common thread among the newcomers is that they wanted to be at Kentucky and were willing to sacrifice to be part of a team where they were surrounded by talented players.
Lowe is a good example. He was the primary scoring option for Pitt last season, posting 16.8 points per game, but his shooting percentage and efficiency numbers suffered at times due to trying to carry the entire load. Pope expects him to be able to take greater advantage of his dynamic skills at UK.
The SEC battle-scarred duo of Dioubate and Aberdeen bring experience, toughness, and versatility. Dioubate was a headache for UK in all three matchups with the Crimson Tide last season -- scoring 25 points and grabbing 21 rebounds -- while Aberdeen comes in with a "big fat giant ring," Pope joked, after helping lead the Gators to a national championship.
Players aren't the only ones who should be improved next season, Pope noted.
"We have so many more data points," he said. "... We talk about the players being so much better the second year, our staff is going to be 100 times better than we were last year, just because we had a chance to function together and learn each other, and the guys have had a chance to learn me. We're excited to see how much better we can be in Year 2."
