Kentucky guard discusses the expectations for the 2024-25 season and they are high

Kentucky will make a run in March in year one under Mark Pope.

University of Kentucky’s new men’s basketball coach Mark Pope speaks about the future of Kentucky men’s basketball during his introductory press conference to thousands of fans in Rupp Arena on Sunday, April 14, 2024. / Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY

When Kentucky hired Mark Pope to be their new head basketball coach, they took a gamble on a relatively new head coach with ties to Kentucky.

Coach Pope went on to explain at his introductory press conference that since he was a part of winning a National Championship at Kentucky, he understands the assignment. Coach Pope has now been instilling this into his players as they continue to say that the assignment for this season is to bring Kentucky home its ninth National Championship.

Kentucky freshman guard Collin Chandler had this to say about the team's expectations this season on BBN Tonight, “If you ask any of my teammates, the expectation is to hang another one of those banners behind us. That is the expectation at the University of Kentucky.”

It is great to hear that this Kentucky team has plans to get Kentucky back to what this basketball program has been historically. The Wildcats haven't had much success in March since the end of the pandemic, but Coach Pope and his first Kentucky roster believe they can change that during the 2024-25 season.

When looking at this Kentucky team, they are more than capable of having an excellent season. Over the last few years in college basketball, the teams that have the most success often are older teams, and that is the makeup of this 2024-25 roster.

With the mix of scoring and defense this team will have, thanks to solid transfer portal recruiting from Coach Pope, the Wildcats will have a lot of success this year.