ESPN finally has Kentucky's starting five correct for the 2024-25 season

Is this going to be the starting five for the Kentucky Wildcats?

Kentucky’s Mark Pope in a one on one interview with Courier Journal’s Ryan Black. Sept. 24, 2024 / Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

ESPN put out their final preseason top 25 for the upcoming college basketball season, and the Kentucky Wildcats stayed where they have most of the offseason at 23rd.

What changed in the update was the projected starting five for the Kentucky Wildcats. For a while, ESPN had Kentucky's projected starting five listed vastly different from what many in Lexington projected it to be. ESPN had Kentucky's three, four, and five correct with Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr, and Amari Williams. Where they had it wrong was in the backcourt.

ESPN believed for a long time that Kerr Kriisa and Otega Oweh would be starters for this team. While these two are both going to be massive role players for the Wildcats, the starting backcourt is going to consist of Lamont Butler and Koby Brea. ESPN finally changed who they believe will be the starting five and listed it to be Buter, Brea, Robinson, Carr, and Williams, which is what many believe it will be.

Kentucky's players who come off the bench are going to be a big part of this team. Kriisa, Oweh, Collin Chandler, Brandon Garrison, and Ansley Almonor are all going to play a good amount of minutes per game. There will be games where one of these players goes off and wins a game for the Wildcats.

The depth of this Kentucky team shows why the Wildcats are a team that can make a run in March. They are going to have fresh legs all season long, thanks to having so much elite depth.