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    • Scouting report for Mark Pope’s 2024-25 squad
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    Scouting report for Mark Pope’s 2024-25 squad

    Harry Posted on

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    LEXINGTON — Kentucky basketball opens 2024-25 season – And Mark Pope period – next week, inviting Wright State to town for a tip-off at 7 p.m. Rupp Arena.

    wildcats They organized their annual events Big Blue Madness event Including a 3-point contest and a dunk contest in early October. They then held a scrimmage session for another purpose. Blue-White incident – Again only fans attended -most Memorial Colosseum Since it was not broadcast on television, we were able to watch it in person. And now England have completed their pre-season preparations by beating Division II clubs Kentucky Wesleyan And Minnesota State Mankato a couple at home exhibition.

    But there’s still so much to learn this season’s squad.

    The Courier Journal provides insight into this edition of the Wildcats, answering important questions heading into the 2024-25 campaign:

    Everything. From scholarship players to coaches, not a single piece of the 2023-24 team returned this season. Therefore, the 2024-25 squad is historic: bigbluehistory.net — A statistical database dedicated to detailing every aspect of Kentucky’s men’s basketball program — 2024-25 campaign, England field a squad without a returning scholarship player from the previous season for the first time. Two seniors from last season, Tre Mitchell And Antonio ReevesHe is 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 Status) and Ugonna Onyenso As (Kansas State) leaves the SEC, three former Wildcats (Zvonimir Ivišić, Adou Thiero And DJ Wagner) was followed former England manager John Calipari for him New in-conference concert in Arkansas.

    With Calipari gone, Kentucky turned to the Popea graduate and a team captain about “untouchables,” the program’s iconic national championship team 1995-96.

    A dozen scholarship exits led to 12 scholarship newcomers. Pope and the Wildcats There was intense pressure in the transfer portaladding nine players: guards Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa, Otega Oweh And Jaxson Robinsonforward Ansley Almonor, Andrew Carr And Amari Williams and center Brandon Garrison. In the United Kingdom there was also a three-person signing class consisting of: Colin Chandler, Trent Noah And travis perry.

    Nobody. Except for a couple walking (Grant Darbyshire And Walker Horn) who played combined Five minutes in 2023-24.

    Jaxson Robinson. He is the only member of the England squad who has previously played for Pope. (Robinson spent the last two seasons at BYU, Pope’s previous school.He was the Cougars’ leading scorer last season, averaging 14.2 points per game off the bench to earn Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year honors and honorable mention to the All-Big 12 team. Robinson has already showcased his high-level talent on offense, scoring points in both of the Wildcats’ exhibition outings, scoring 19 points against Kentucky Wesleyan and 24 against Minnesota State Mankato. In the second game, every point Robinson scored came from distance and he hit eight three-pointers.

    Even though he was the Wildcats’ top point scorer at the end of the season, don’t expect much of a difference between the 1st and 2nd, or even the 1st and 5th, spots. Pope and his team want balance and sportiness with multiple scoring options on the field at all times.

    Take note: Four players open BYU’s 2023-24 roster He finished with double-digit scoring averages, and three more were 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. According to all major recruiting services, he is the lowest-ranked transfer to join the program (competitors, 247Sports And Open3). The same goes for basketball statisticians. Evan Miyakawanot only have Almonor The last of England’s nine signings but also Questioned how quickly the former Fairleigh Dickinson star could adapt to the SEC. “He was (FDU’s) top scorer last year and put up good numbers. But they’re not playing in a great league,” Miyakawa said. “So those types of stats don’t usually pan out that well, and my predictions take that into account: just the massive increase in talent he’ll go through in terms of the teams he plays against.” At the UK media day in October, Almonor said he was well aware of his critics; friends and family pass on critical comments they hear out loud or see on social media. Now it’s up to Almonor to prove the skeptics wrong.

    Andrew Carr. He’s a good bet to be in the top two in scoring (behind Robinson) and rebounding (next to center). Amari Williams), Carr may have the best statistical profile of any Wildcat come season’s end. He is also a talented passer. But that’s not all: His height of 1.90 overshadows his shooting ability. He showed this off at the team’s pro day on October 7. Carr was arguably the Wildcats’ best player that night, and he showed it off to scouts from all 30 NBA teams. With his size, length, high-level decision-making and ability to knock down shots from well beyond the three-point line, Carr has every skill that NBA teams have come to expect from big men in modern basketball. If Carr’s play matches his potential, that bodes well for the Wildcats this season.

    Seven. Seven players on Kentucky’s roster played 2,000 minutes or more in college. (A hat tip old Courier Journal England beat the writer kyle tucker For this figure it reveals During the SEC’s in-depth analysis ahead of the 2024-25 season.) Those seven Cats have played 2,000-plus minutes, more than any team in the now 16-team conference, surpassing Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M, which boast six players each.

    No, not a single member of the England squad has played together before. But the past decade has proven that programs with many seasoned veterans win national awards. No SEC club has more experience in terms of college minutes than the Wildcats. If the chemistry develops quickly, Kentucky will be a contender in March.

    Lamont Butler. His individual statistics may not be dazzling. He may not be among the 60 elections next year NBA draft. But Butler’s importance to this team cannot be assessed by such numerical measurements. Best feature: lock-on, 1v1 defense. Pope regularly refers to him as the best perimeter defender in college basketball. Kentucky’s schedule features ultra-talented guards on up-and-down foes. These chief guards take on even greater importance during March Madness; More often than not, teams with the best guard play make the deepest moves NCAA Tournament running. If Butler surprises and irritates these guards, it will go a long way towards ensuring UK stay in the Big Dance for a long time to come.

    Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

    Harry
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