When Mark Pope announced that he would be taking questions directly from BBN, we all knew things could get interesting. But honestly, it turned out pretty good; you had some honest questions and some good answers. Sure, there were sarcastic questions that just were never going to be answered, but Pope did address the GM situation. While it wasn’t the answer a lot of people hoped for, at least there is now a clear hierarchy within the basketball front office. Let’s break it down.
Kentucky
There’s a lot new with Kentucky basketball. Here’s early scouting report of 2024-25 Cats
Kentucky basketball: Mark Pope discusses win over Minnesota State
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope was happy with his team’s second half performance to get the win over Minnesota State in an exhibition game.
Sam Upshaw Jr.
LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball opens the 2024-25 season — and the Mark Pope era — next week, as it welcomes Wright State to town for a 7 p.m. tipoff at Rupp Arena.
The Wildcats held their annual Big Blue Madness event earlier in October, which included a 3-point competition and dunk contest. Then they held a scrimmage session during the repurposed Blue-White event — though only fans in attendance at Memorial Coliseum were able to watch in person, as it wasn’t televised. And now, UK is done with the preseason, routing Division II clubs Kentucky Wesleyan and Minnesota State Mankato in a pair of home exhibitions.
But there’s still plenty to learn about this season’s roster.
The Courier Journal provides insight about this edition of the Wildcats by answering key questions entering the 2024-25 campaign:
Everything. From the scholarship players to the coaches, not a single part of the 2023-24 team is back this season. For that reason, the 2024-25 roster is historic: Per bigbluehistory.net — a statistical database devoted to detailing every aspect of Kentucky’s men’s basketball program — the 2024-25 campaign will be the first time UK has fielded a roster without a returning scholarship player from the previous season. Two seniors from last season, Tre Mitchell and Antonio Reeves, ran out of college eligibility. Three more (Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards and Reed Sheppard) entered the NBA draft. The other seven scholarship players transferred: Aaron Bradshaw (Ohio State), Jordan Burks (Georgetown), Joey Hart (Ball State) and Ugonna Onyenso (Kansas State) left the SEC, while three ex-Wildcats (Zvonimir Ivišić, Adou Thiero and D.J. Wagner) followed former UK coach John Calipari to his new intraconference gig at Arkansas.
With Calipari gone, Kentucky turned to Pope, an alum and a team captain of “The Untouchables,” the program’s iconic national championship squad of 1995-96.
The dozen scholarship exits wrought 12 scholarship newcomers. Pope and the Wildcats treaded heavily in the transfer portal, adding nine players: guards Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa, Otega Oweh and Jaxson Robinson, forwards Ansley Almonor, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams and center Brandon Garrison. UK also had a three-man signing class composed of Collin Chandler, Trent Noah and Travis Perry.
No one. Other than a pair of walk-ons (Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn) who played a combined five minutes in 2023-24.
Jaxson Robinson. He’s the only member of UK’s roster to have played for Pope before. (Robinson spent the past two seasons at BYU, Pope’s previous school.) He was the Cougars’ top scorer last season, coming off the bench to average 14.2 points per game on his way to winning the Big 12’s Sixth Man of the Year award and earning an honorable mention nod for the All-Big 12 team. Robinson’s already showcased his top-flight ability offensively, pacing the Wildcats in points in both of their exhibition outings, scoring 19 versus Kentucky Wesleyan and 24 against Minnesota State Mankato. In the latter, every point from Robinson came from distance, sinking eight 3-pointers.
While he’ll likely be the Wildcats’ chief point-getter at the end of the season, don’t expect much of a margin between Nos. 1 and 2 — or perhaps even 1 and 5. Pope and his staff crave balance and sporting multiple scoring options on the floor at all times.
Take note: Four players on BYU’s 2023-24 roster finished with double-digit scoring averages, with three more above 9.0: Robinson (14.2), Fousseyni Traore (10.9), Trevin Knell (10.6), Spencer Johnson (10.3), Richie Saunders (9.6), Noah Waterman (9.5) and Dallin Hall (9.0).
Ansley Almonor. He’s the lowest-ranked transfer to join the program, according to every major recruiting service (Rivals, 247Sports and On3). The same goes for basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa, who not only had Almonor last among UK’s nine transfers but also questioned how quickly the former Fairleigh Dickinson star could adapt to the SEC. “He was (FDU’s) leading scorer last year, and he put up good numbers. … But they don’t play in a great league,” Miyakawa said. “So those sorts of statistics don’t typically translate that well, and my projections take that into account: just the massive talent jump that he’s gonna be taking in terms of teams that he’s playing against.” At UK’s media day in October, Almonor said he’s well aware of his detractors; friends and family pass along critical comments they’ve heard aloud or seen on social media. Now, it’s on Almonor to prove his doubters wrong.
Andrew Carr. A good bet to rank among the top two in points (behind Robinson) and rebounds (alongside center Amari Williams), Carr could have the best statistical profile of any Wildcat come the end of the season. He’s a gifted passer, too. But that’s not all: His 6-foot-10 frame belies his shooting ability, which he showcased throughout the team’s pro day Oct. 7. Carr was arguably the Wildcats’ top player that evening — and put that on display for scouts from all 30 NBA teams. With his size, length, top-tier decision-making and knack for knocking down shots from well beyond the 3-point line, Carr possesses every skill NBA teams desire from big men in modern basketball. If Carr’s play matches his potential, that bodes well for the Wildcats this season.
Seven. As in, seven players on Kentucky’s roster have played 2,000 or more minutes in college. (A hat tip to former Courier Journal UK beat writer Kyle Tucker for that figure, which he unearthed during a deep-dive analysis of the SEC ahead of the 2024-25 season.) Those seven 2,000-plus-minutes Cats are more than any outfit in the now-16-team conference, besting Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, which each boast six such players.
No, not a single member of UK’s roster has played together before. But the past decade has proven that programs with plenty of experienced veterans win national titles. No SEC club is as seasoned as the Wildcats in terms of college minutes. If the chemistry develops quickly, Kentucky will be a contender in March.
Lamont Butler. His individual stats might not dazzle. He might not go among the 60 picks in next year’s NBA draft. But Butler’s importance to this team’s won’t be judged by such numerical measures. His best attribute: lockdown, 1-on-1 defense. Pope regularly refers to him as the best perimeter defender in college basketball. Up and down Kentucky’s schedule, foes feature ultra-talented guards. Those lead guards take on even greater importance in March Madness; more often than not, teams with the best guard play make the deepest NCAA Tournament runs. Butler flummoxing and frustrating those guards would go a long way toward ensuring UK has a long stay in the Big Dance.
Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.
Warm and humid weather for Preakness Stakes this weekend
The second race of the Triple Crown is May 16 in Laurel, Maryland. Conditions at Preakness Stakes are expected to be warmer with humidity. There could be a spotty thunderstorm after the race.
Golden Tempo won the Kentucky Derby. He won’t be at the Preakness. And that’s becoming a familiar story.
This marks the second straight year and the third time in five years that the Derby winner has decided not to compete in the Preakness Stakes despite having a healthy horse. The reason is almost always the same: two weeks isn’t enough time.
Trainer Cherie DeVaux made the call quickly after Golden Tempo’s dramatic last-to-first Derby victory on May 2.
“Golden gave us the race of a lifetime,” DeVaux said in a statement. “We believe the best decision for him moving forward is to give him a little more time following such a tremendous effort.”
DeVaux and Golden Tempo are focused on the June 6 Belmont Stakes instead.
The pattern is pretty clear.
From 1997 to 2018, every Kentucky Derby winner ran the Preakness, keeping the Triple Crown path intact. That streak ended with Country House, who won the Derby on the disqualification of Maximum Security, was scratched from the Preakness. The sport has been wrestling with the question ever since. Maryland’s racing leaders have considered moving the Preakness one week later, from the third Saturday in May to the fourth, though no change has been made.
Of the 14 horses entered in the Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, just three made the trip from Churchill Downs. None of them won the Derby. One nearly caused the biggest upset in recent memory.
Ocelli (Post 2, 6-1)
The most intriguing Derby returnee. Ocelli finished third at 70-1 odds on May 2, giving trainer Whit Beckman and jockey Tyler Gaffalione a surprise ticket to Laurel Park. He was the lone maiden in the Derby field and remains a maiden heading into Saturday. Nobody expected him to be here.
Incredibolt (post 12, 5-1)
The morning-line co-favorite among Derby runners. Incredibolt finished sixth at Churchill Downs and trainer Riley Mott moved quickly to point him to Laurel Park. Jockey Jaime Torres won the 2024 Preakness aboard Seize the Grey. The connections believe the 1 3/16-mile distance suits Incredibolt better than the Derby’s mile and a quarter.
Robusta (Post 4, 30-1)
The longest shot of the Derby trio is Robusta, who finished 14th of the 14 in the Derby. The question with any horse coming back this quickly after a tough Derby is how much the race took out of him. At 30-1, it seems the market has answered that question.
COVINGTON, Ky. (WKRC) – A Northern Kentucky man is in jail, accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl who’d been reported missing.
Matthew Wade, 40, faces charges, including sexual abuse, unlawful transaction with a minor and assault.
Covington Police say they found the teen at Wade’s home on Highway Avenue on Monday. According to the police report, he was knowingly hiding her, knew she was missing and had cut her ankle monitor off.
Investigators say the teen was given alcohol, marijuana and magic mushrooms.
The girl told police wade slapped her and choked her.
Officers also say they found guns in the home.
Mark Pope has confirmed that no official GM position will exist for at least this season, and most likely won’t exist going forward. Why? Because he has the responsibilities spread out across 4 different people, and believes that is the best way forward.
“In this ever-changing college basketball dynamic, everybody is trying a different solution. For us, instead of hiring a singular GM, we’ve gone with a more comprehensive general management team approach. We have four members of the team. Keegan Brown is a data analysis and roster construction expert who’s worked in both college and the NBA. Nick Robinson is our salary cap strategy and management specialist. Kevin Sergent is our compliance officer, and he deals with all of our contracts and legal language. Kim Shelton is our JMI liaison, and she does all of our NIL contracts that deal with corporate sponsorships. That’s our four-person general management team.”
But who is each one of these people, and what makes them qualified?
Who’s doing what in the Kentucky basketball front office?
Well, Keegan Brown has been a video coordinator in the G-League. That essentially means he would go and watch all the videos on league opponents and potential prospects, and come up with data-backed scouting reports for the coaching and front office teams. Pope has worked with Brown at BYU, so there is some familiarity there.
Nick Robinson also worked with Mark Pope in Provo, being an assistant coach from 2019 to 2024 and following Pope to Lexington. He has been on staff all 3 seasons now, and is being tasked with handing out Kentucky’s money and setting a budget for each player.
Kevin Sergent is not new to Kentucky; he has been in Lexington since 2020. But this is his first time handling compliance on his own; his official title is Senior Associate AD for Athletic Compliance. He handles all the rules, applying for waivers, basically making sure the entire staff is doing everything the right way.
Kim Shelton is a UK alum who was more known for soccer than anything else. She was part of the very first Kentucky women’s soccer team and is a former CEO of Lexington Sporting Club. She worked for Kentucky when Commonwealth was renamed as Kroger Field, and played a role in setting up naming rights for Kentucky Proud Park. Right now, she is kind of the bridge between Kentucky and JMI, specifically handling BBNIL Suite.
If you don’t remember what BBNIL suite is, it’s essentially the opt-in program where student athletes agree to only work with deals through JMI. They find offers, broker deals, and help athletes make money. It is, of course, optional, but if players decline, they will not be able to use the University of Kentucky logos in their NIL marketing.
Trent Noah is probably the most successful NIL athlete who opted out. The Kentucky native is handling his own NIL, and by the amount of ads and cardboard cutouts I see littered around the state, he seems to be doing pretty well.
Seeing JMI integrated again into Kentucky Basketball is probably going to make some of you uneasy, and I get that. But everyone who has worked with them who has officially gone on the record says they are a pleasure to work with.
And that’s how Mark Pope wants it done. There is a theory out there that he wants a GM, but JMI won’t let him. Considering he has chosen 2 of the 4 people personally, I highly doubt that’s true.
What do you think of his explanation, and what do you think of how he is handling the GM role?
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