Last offseason Mark Pope completely overhauled Kentucky’s roster after replacing John Calipari in Lexington, and this postseason the Wildcats became the first team in college basketball history to make the Sweet 16 with zero returning points from the previous year. Then, once Pope’s Year 1 run comes to an end, either against Tennessee on Friday night, in the Elite Eight, or in San Antonio for the Final Four, he’ll almost have to do the same thing again.
Pope added nine transfers last offseason, along with a talented class of in-state freshmen Travis Perry and Trent Noah. However, seven of those nine transfers: Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson, Koby Brea, Andrew Carr, Ansley Almonor, Amari Williams, and Kerr Kriisa are in their final year of eligibility. Only Garrison and Otega Oweh have the option to return for next season from that loaded transfer class.
Now, Oweh, Garrison, Perry, Noah, and Colin Chandler, who followed Mark Pope from BYU after his Mormon mission and played his first year of college basketball at 21 years old this season, are a talented core and may be foundational pieces for Pope going forward. As will a talented three-player 2025 recruiting class of four-stars Jasper Johnson, Malachi Moreno, and Acaden Lewis, but that group still needs veteran supplementation, especially at the one position where Kentucky had the most issues this year: point guard.
Lamont Butler is playing with a massive brace on his left shoulder in the NCAA Tournament, battling an injury that has nagged him all year. He’s played well despite his physical limitations and that’s been crucial with Kriisa out since December, and Jaxson Robinson missing the end of the year and the postseason. At times with Butler out, 7-foot center Amari Williams, a talented passer averaging 3.2 assists as the fulcrum of Pope’s five-out system, has been forced to play point guard.
That unconventional offensive style has led to a 24-win season and a Sweet 16 appearance, but it’s clear that Pope is not interested in experimental point guard-less basketball anymore because he’s done his best to contact the most talented ones as they’ve poured in the transfer portal this week, and that includes Mountain West Player of the Year Donovan Dent.
Dent led Richard Pitino’s Lobos to a regular season conference title and a first-round NCAA Tournament victory over Marquette before both he and his head coach left the program in search of greener pastures. The 6-foot-2 junior averaged 20.4 points, 6.4 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 49% from the field and 40.9% from three.
He’s not a volume three-point shooter, as Pope’s wide-open offensive philosophy typically attracts, but his downhill slashing style and creative paint finishing will thrive if he’s surrounded by shooters in Lexington. It’s the perfect fit and it seems as though Dent knows it.
In a midweek interview with Kentucky Sports Radio+, Dent said that Kentucky has, “always been a dream school to play at.”
He’s been contacted by just about every big-time program and will land a big-money NIL package wherever he heads for his final year of eligibility, but it appears that he’s leaning towards Kentucky, and that’s a massive development for Pope.
When Pope replaced Calipari there were two concerns: 1. Pope’s lack of NCAA Tournament wins. Well, he’s crossed that off the list twice over in his first year. And 2. Pope’s lack of high-level recruiting. Would he attract the elite-level talent that constantly flock to Coach Cal?
The jury is still out on that question. This season has been about Pope’s offensive mastery and adaptability with a group of highly intelligent veterans, not about star power. Now, under Pope, the program will never be an NBA pipeline for five-stars as it was with his predecessor, but if he can land Dent, the top player in the portal, it will prove that he’s up to the task in the offseason and will place national championship expectations on his program heading into Year 2.