Three things I’ll be watching when Kentucky men’s basketball opens exhibition play
Wednesday isn’t the official opening of the Mark Pope regime. That comes Nov. 4. As the first of two such outings, Kentucky Wesleyan is in town for an exhibition game. Call it a Kentucky basketball sneak peek at Rupp Arena.
It will be our first look at Pope’s pupils matched up against players that are not their teammates. Kentucky Wesleyan is an NCAA Division II opponent, but we can still learn a few things about the 2024-25 Wildcats.
Here are three things I’ll be watching:
1. Rotations
As everyone knows, everyone is new on this Kentucky roster. New to Kentucky, that is. Only BYU transfer Jaxson Robinson has played for Pope before. Outside of a couple exceptions — Kentuckians Travis Perry and Trent Noah being one — the current Cats did not know each other until they arrived on campus this summer. Pope barely knew them, as well.
So who will start? Who comes off the bench? Who is the point guard, the shooting guard, the power forward, the 5-man? Who is the defensive stopper? Will Pope play 7-footer Amari Williams and 6-foot-10 sophomore Brandon Garrison together? Will Pope go deep into his bench, or will he stick to a core group of players for continuity’s sake? Who knows.
The guess here is that the new coach will mix and match. Summer workouts and preseason practices have no doubt given Pope a feel for possible directions and decisions, but practicing is one thing, scrimmaging is another and playing against outside competition can be something else entirely.
2. The 3-pointers
From what we know about Pope’s teams at Utah Valley and BYU, especially last season’s Cougars, we know the coach wants an offense that shoots a lot of 3-pointers. In fact, the coach is on record as saying he would like the Cats to take an average of 35 3-point shots per game.
What we don’t know is where those 3-point attempts will come from. Everyone? A small group of players? Does every player on the roster have the green light? Are there set plays to work open 3-point shooters? Or, as we’ve heard, there’s a randomness to the offense in which players are expected to launch a 3-pointer at the first opportunity?
Better yet: How good will this team be at making 3s? As the old joke goes, some players are good 3-point shooters, not all are good 3-point makers. The guess here is that Pope recruited players he knew can make 3s, but the proof comes on the floor.
3. How will Pope coach?
Every coach has his own particular style on or off the bench during games. For the most part, Tennessee’s Rick Barnes sits in his chair, rising only to instruct a player or complain to an official. Texas A&M’s Buzz Williams is moving and gesturing through every possession. And sweating. Buzz has been know to shed the vest on his three-piece suit by halftime.
Rick Pitino was Pope’s college coach and mentor. As the late, great Jock Sutherland said once of Pitino, “He coaches every dribble.” And from what I’ve seen of Pope at his previous stops, he has an animated sideline presence, as well.
Only in Pope’s case, it’s a unusually tall one. The man stands 6-foot-10, after all. You don’t see too many of those. The late John Thompson, legendary coach of the Georgetown Hoyas, was also 6-10. California coach Mark Madsen is 6-9. Creighton coach Greg McDermott is 6-8.
Also, does Pope spend time conversing with officials? John Calipari normally kept up a dialogue with the men in the striped shirts. Does Pope meet with his assistants first during timeouts? Does he call early timeouts, or horde them for the final moments, as was the philosophy of North Carolina legend Dean Smith? Does he let his players play through mistakes, or does Pope quickly bring them back to the bench for a teaching moment?
We start learning the answers to some of those questions Wednesday night.
