Ansley Almonor is bringing Pope era vibes to UK’s La Familia team. Then what?
While Kentucky basketball greats of the recent past put up shots and laughed with old friends and acquaintances on the Joe Craft Center practice court Tuesday afternoon, Ansley Almonor stood off to the side, leaning up against a wall on one baseline and soaking in the scene.
“I feel like I just left here,” he said, surveying the gym. “And it looks a lot different now in here, too. So it’s kind of cool to see all the changes they’ve made. I’m just happy I get to be back here on this court. It feels like I’m home again. …
“Even walking into the building, seeing all the familiar faces — it feels like I never left.”
Only a few months have passed since Almonor was last in that building as a UK player, but plenty has changed in that time. He wrapped up his college career in March, graduated from the university in May and has spent the past several weeks preparing for whatever comes next.
Meanwhile, Mark Pope has put together a new team for his upcoming second season as the head coach of the Wildcats, that squad is already more than halfway through its eight-week summer practice session, and the home gym for those workouts has undergone a makeover, too.
On the wall opposite the baseline where Almonor was standing, a new UK basketball logo — with eight stars for each of the program’s national championships — stretched across the gym.
On the wall to his left, spanning the length of an entire sideline, new blue banners commemorating those eight national championships looked out onto the court. The banner at the end of that line was white instead of blue, the number nine on it and “The Assignment” in script below.
That finishing touch on the new decorations is pure Pope, who has been talking about banners, in general, and chasing a ninth one, specifically, since he took the UK coaching job last April.
His first Kentucky team was one characterized by sacrifice, a bunch of newcomers to the program — many of them seniors, going into their final season of college basketball — with a shared vision of hanging number nine at the end of the journey.
That didn’t happen, of course, but that group still captured the imagination of UK fans along the way. And as last season unfolded, Almonor emerged as the poster child for Pope’s vision.
The 6-foot-7 forward from Spring Valley, New York, grew up dreaming of playing at a place like Kentucky. Instead, he had few options out of high school, starting out as a bit player at Fairleigh Dickinson before transforming into a mid-major star in his third and final season there.
He had plenty of options when he decided to transfer for his final year of college. The one he chose didn’t offer the largest role — or even a considerable amount of guaranteed playing time — but he jumped at the opportunity to join up with a blue blood in a do-whatever-is-needed capacity.
In a way, that’s exactly what he’s doing now.
Almonor returns to Kentucky
Starting Friday night, Almonor will be back in blue and white as part of the UK-affiliated La Familia squad as it looks to roll through the 64-team, single-elimination TBT — a summer basketball tournament that offers a winner-take-all, $1 million purse to the champions.
Almonor, who turned 23 years old in April, will be the youngest ex-Cat on the court.
As he spoke Tuesday, he glanced around the gym and mentioned guys he grew up watching. Willie Cauley-Stein. Aaron and Andrew Harrison. DeAndre Liggins. Archie Goodwin. He recalled Doron Lamb helping shoot the Cats to the 2012 national title, one of his earliest memories of watching college basketball as a kid.
Almonor was 9 years old when UK earned that eighth banner.
“Just being able to play with them on the same team is a privilege,” he said. “I’m happy I get to do that. I’m just looking forward to being able to learn from all of them and try to get better.”
Almonor will also be the first Pope-era player to join La Familia, which — led by former Cats who played under John Calipari — advanced to the TBT semifinals last summer.
“It’s cool that I get to be the first guy to bridge that gap,” he said. “Hopefully there’s more guys in the future that will come and join, play for La Familia and represent BBN again. It’s just great to be that first guy.”
That’s the plan.
This time last year, Pope tried to shine as much light as possible on the TBT venture. He threw his support behind his fellow former Kentucky players in his earliest press conferences as head coach, had his team practice with the La Familia squad before the games began and showed up with his family for the tournament opener.
The 2024-25 Cats continued to come to the games as La Familia kept winning, the new guys’ first real taste of what being a Kentucky basketball player meant in the commonwealth.
“It was dope seeing how the fan base showed out and came and showed love to the TBT team,” Almonor said. “Just seeing their support and how much they showed love to the team, it’s definitely cool. Just seeing, like — even though (these) guys left years ago — that they’re still willing to come back and support them.”
When it came time for La Familia general manager Twany Beckham to fill out his 2025 roster, he knew he wanted a presence from the Pope era. Almonor jumped at that chance, too.
“Of course, with Coach Pope being the leader at the helm right now, we just thought it would be awesome to have somebody be that first player from the Pope era to join La Familia,” Beckham said. “And we needed shooting. So I reached out to him. We had a couple meetings, and he was excited to join what we’re doing, and I was excited to have him.
“He’s going to add a lot to our team.”
What’s next for Almonor?
Almonor and La Familia will tip off the TBT at 9 p.m. Friday in Memorial Coliseum. If they keep winning, there will be additional home games at 2:30 p.m. Sunday and 6 p.m. Tuesday before a possible quarterfinal matchup in Louisville (or perhaps more games in Memorial, depending on how the bracket shakes out).
Just like he did when accepting his spot with the Wildcats a year ago, Almonor is approaching this summer assignment with an open mind. Beckham, another former UK player who obviously kept close tabs on the Cats this past season, took notice of that attitude.
“It’s super important,” he said. “This is one loss and you’re out. So you need people that are going to buy into the coach’s philosophies and the way he wants to play. And so you can’t have any guys being selfish, because one bad night, then we’re all going home. And for Ansley to have youth, coming off of a season where he just recently played — so the fans are so familiar with him — to join us and be that first Coach Pope crossover to us, it means a lot.”
The TBT will also be a tryout of sorts for Almonor, who watched last month as two of his fellow seniors — Koby Brea and Amari Williams — were drafted into the NBA while Lamont Butler, Andrew Carr and Jaxson Robinson all signed free-agent deals with teams from the league.
Almonor isn’t quite sure what’s next for him.
“Obviously, I’m going to continue playing the game,” he said. “I just don’t know where yet.”
He’s hoping a good showing in the TBT — a nationally televised event that annually draws the eyes of pro scouts — might lead to more opportunities. A portion of that $1 million prize would be nice, too.
“My skill set is obviously being a great shooter, spacing the floor,” Almonor said. “I feel like my IQ helps me a lot — getting open shots, cutting, moving off the ball. And just being a great energy guy. And just doing anything on the court that could really help win.
“You know, I feel like at this point, I’m just here to showcase some skills that maybe I wasn’t able to showcase during the season. And I’m ready to go out there and do that.”
Almonor was ninth on UK’s team in minutes per game last season, but he had his share of moments on the court.
He was instrumental in Kentucky’s exciting victory at Mississippi State — leading to some I-told-you-so talk from Pope — and scored in double figures in both of the Cats’ wins over Tennessee. His season high of 15 points came, fittingly, on Senior Night in Rupp Arena.
And he ended up shooting 42.4% from 3-point range — top 20 in school history — the cornerstone of a skill set that should allow him to play professionally for years, even if that future isn’t in the NBA.
Asked whether he’d prefer starting his pro career overseas or a shot in the G League, the former Cat was clear. “No preference. Just wherever I can get a great opportunity and play basketball at this point.”
Perhaps one great opportunity will spring from another. Right now, he’s focused on the present with La Familia, a chance to show off his game while learning from several players who have spent time in the NBA — guys he looked up to as a kid.
As Almonor spoke Tuesday, two former teammates — Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison — peeked around a corner and giggled. Once the interview session was finished, they came out on the court, and the trio clowned around for a bit before the La Familia practice began.
“We got to kind of set the tone of what the expectation is here, and that’s winning national championships, competing for national championships every single year,” Almomor said. “And, you know, obviously injuries hurt us, but I thought we did. I thought we set a great example.”
This story was originally published July 16, 2025 at 6:30 AM.
