With John Calipari’s departure for Arkansas, we can now formally enter the Mark Pope era, and there will be many changes. Big Blue Nation has grown accustomed to five-star prospects becoming one-and-done NBA players. That most likely won’t be the case at Kentucky anymore.
In addition to bringing in five-star players, coach Pope stated during his opening press conference that he will have a good number of players who will join the team and play for several seasons.
Teams are growing older in the new collegiate basketball landscape, and a deep run in the NCAA Tournament requires an experienced roster.
With the exception of Travis Perry and Collin Chandler, it appears that Coach Pope will have that on his first Kentucky roster because nearly every player will have played collegiate basketball for at least two years. Brandon Garrison, who played as a true freshman for Oklahoma State the previous season, is the only exception as of now.
The odds for the Wildcats to win the National Championship were recently released by FanDuel Sportsbook, and they are currently at +4000, which is right behind Coach Calipari’s Razorbacks (+3500) and tied with Tennessee.
Coach Pope won’t likely lead his team to a national championship in their first season, but they will have a veteran team—the kind of team that usually makes a deep run.
