Mark Pope is entering a big year at Kentucky, as the Wildcats weren’t quite as good last season as fans had hoped for.
The Wildcats enter the season as a highly skilled, athletic team that should be able to get out and run in the open floor. That is a different trend than many other teams in basketball that are getting bigger, and more physical. Those teams could give the Wildcats a tough matchup next year, and Pope told Jeff Goodman on The Field of 68 podcast that he is concerned with the lack of size on the team.
“Everybody in college basketball has gotten so big and physical… That’s not us right now,” Pope said. “We are long, fast and skilled. We have some togetherness that’s going to translate to toughness for us, but we’re going to be challenged in terms of brute strength and physicality.”
As a team, the Wildcats will have the height to match up with a lot of teams, but the strength in the paint is an area that could be an issue. Pope has built his team a certain way, and the Wildcats are going to need to be able to play at their style.
Milan Momcilovic was a late-portal addition from Iowa State, but he was a huge addition as he shot 49% from the 3-point line last season for Iowa State. Spacing the floor is going to be key for the Wildcats, and make those bigger, more phsyical bigs have to get out and guard on the perimeter.
The college basketball season is still a couple months away, but Wildcat fans are already hoping to see improvement in the team from last year.
