College basketball fans need to buy stock in Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats now

Mark Pope is going to have an elite team this season.

Former Kentucky basketball player and new head coach Mark Pope was animated during his announcement at Rupp Arena in Lexington Ky. on April 14, 2024. / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA

For some reason, college basketball fans and writers aren't buying into the Kentucky hype, and it doesn't make much sense. People had gotten so used to the type of team John Calipari had when he was Kentucky's head coach that it seems like people think no other style of teams will work in Lexington. This just isn't how college basketball works.

In all honesty, when you look at the type of teams that have made runs in the NCAA Tournament over the last few years, this Kentucky team is a perfect prototype of those teams. The teams that have succeeded since COVID have been older teams that are solid on both ends of the floor.

This is precisely how many would describe Kentucky's 2024-25 roster. It is full of players who have played a lot of college basketball and guys with different skill sets. This team has players like Amari Williams and Lamont Butler who have both won their previous conferences Defensive Player of the Year Award. Then Coach Pope has guys like Otega Oweh and Brandon Garrison, who are solid on both ends of the floor. Lastly, Coach Pope has some elite scorers, such as Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr, and Koby Brea.

The different skill sets of the players on this Kentucky team should help the Wildcats be a top 20 team both offensively and defensively on KenPom. If Kentucky is a top 20 team on KenPom in both of these metrics come March, knowing this team is full of veterans, the Wildcats will be a hot pick to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.