Something I’ve referenced multiple times over the past year on the Eye On College Basketball Podcast is how @CBKReport — which is an account on X, formerly known as Twitter — highlighted in February how teams that brought in seven or more transfers in advance of last season were largely not good.
Could Kentucky run counter to that trend this season?
It’s looking that way.
As you likely know, not a single person who played for John Calipari at Kentucky last season is playing for Mark Pope at Kentucky this season. The first-year Wildcats coach was forced to start from scratch upon being hired in April, which led him to the transfer portal, where he added — deep breath — Otega Oweh from Oklahoma, Lamont Butler from San Diego State, Jaxon Robinson from BYU, Koby Brea from Dayton, Andrew Carr from Wake Forest, Amari Williams from Drexel, Ansley Almonor from Fairleigh Dickinson, Brandon Garrison from Oklahoma State and Kerr Kriisa from West Virginia.
Right now, those nine players represent UK’s top nine scorers. Right now, those nine players have the Wildcats off to a 9-1 start this season following Saturday night’s 90-89 overtime victory against Gonzaga in Seattle.
“Jaxson put on his cape,” Pope answered when longtime college basketball insider Andy Katz asked him how UK came from 18 down to upset the Zags. “He just put on his cape and said, ‘Listen, I’ll go do this.'”
Then he went and did it.
The fifth-year player who followed Pope from BYU to Kentucky took 15 shots, made seven of them and finished with 18 points, five assists, three rebounds and a steal. His big performance was needed given that Butler, the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer, was sidelined with an ankle injury.
The come-from-behind victory pushed Kentucky up to No. 5 in Sunday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, which caused Kansas to be pushed down one spot, no fault of its own. UK’s next game is Wednesday against Colgate. After that, next Saturday, it’s the Wildcats’ annual showdown with in-state rival Louisville.
