Kentucky basketball projected starting five: a key piece still missing from Mark Pope’s roster
Mark Pope has been busy since getting to Kentucky. After not retaining any of John Calipari’s roster, Pope has loaded up in the transfer portal. So here’s how his seven portal additions could fit on the court next winter.
Even though Mark Pope has only been at Kentucky for about two months, he has already demonstrated that the restrictions Utah Valley and BYU placed on him contributed more to his lack of success as a head coach of collegiate basketball. With access to top talent in Lexington, Pope is bolstering his team.
Pope has added ten players to his 2024 squad, despite not being able to keep any of John Calipari’s players on the roster.Seven through the transfer portal, and three more as incoming freshmen, including Collin Chandler, who committed to Pope and BYU back in 2022 and spent the last two years on a mission trip.
Big Blue Nation was sick of hearing Coach Cal refer to himself as the “king of the one-and-done,” but Pope has redefined that term. Graduate transfers like Andrew Carr from Wake Forest, Amari Williams from Drexel, LaMont Butler from San Diego State, Kerr Kriisa from West Virginia, and Koby Brea from Dayton are examples of Pope’s one-and-done players.
Pope doesn’t seem to be finished, even though the team still lacks a true focal point despite the abundance of excellent players on it. Here is a tentative projection of Kentucky’s starting five for the next season, though it may not look like this come Opening Day.
Kriisa is quite well-travelled by now. Before moving to West Virginia, he started his career at Arizona. The Wildcats probably did this to make space for Caleb Love in Tuscon. In order to play his last year of collegiate basketball, Kriisa needed a new place to live once Darian DeVries took control in Morgantown.
Kriisa doesn’t provide great upside and his 2.9 turnover a game last year is concerning, but he’s the ideal point protect against Mark Pope’s offensive move. Kriisa can manage an efficient pick-and-roll and keep the ball moving offensively, but his outstanding catch-and-shoot statistics make it possible for him to play without the ball in his hands—a skill that will soon be required of Kentucky’s point guards.
Kriisa fired a career-high 42.4% from three at WVU, but to get past SEC defenders, he’ll need an attacking guard at his side. Otega Oweh, a thin slasher who presently projects as Kentucky’s third guard, might be a good combination in lineups with Kriisa because the latter lacks the requisite athleticism to regularly beat defenses off the dribble.
