Mark Pope has a new problem, so where will the Kentucky Wildcats turn?

The Kentucky Wildcats have started 2-1 through their first three games of the new college hoops season, and while, on paper, this is a terrific roster for Mark Pope and company, they must figure out how to put the pieces together.

The Cats annihilated Manhattan 85-57 to start the season, but their second victory was a narrow 89-80 win over James Madison. Following that, Kentucky got its first taste of a Power 4 opponent and was blasted 89-69 by the Kansas Jayhawks on national television. Kentucky native Tyran Stokes beating up on the program he almost chose to attend made matters even worse for Kentucky this past Tuesday.

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There are many problems that Pope must figure out, but the starting lineup is relatively set. Four of the starters are not going to lose their role on the roster, but Ousmane N’Diaye might. The power forward spot seems to be one that is up for debate. N’Diaye played a mere 12 minutes and scored just four points against Kansas.

No one who would’ve come in and played that power forward position really found any traction either. Justin McBride gave Pope 15 minutes but missed all three of his shot attempts. McBride played at James Madison a season ago, and this is his fourth team in as many years.

Kam Williams was supposed to be an anchor for this team, and he saw four minutes and had just a single rebound and no points. Williams seems to be the most likely option and would likely do a much better job at spreading the floor for the Cats’ guards to drive than N’Diaye can. He played 18.5 minutes per game last season and shot 35.9% from deep, connecting on 1.2 threes per game.

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Pope has Northern Arizona tonight and then Grambling State Monday before facing the Indiana Hoosiers in another Power 4 battle Friday, November 20. That game against the currently 4-0 Hoosiers will be telling.

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Mark Pope has a new problem, so where will the Kentucky Wildcats turn?

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/mark-pope-problem-where-kentucky-214933434.html

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Publish date : 2026-11-13 21:49:00

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