Mark Pope says everyone on the roster is making strides

Pope says every single player has made progress since arriving on campus.

Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope hypes up the crowd during Big Blue Madness on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 at Rupp Arena. / Clare Grant/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball has a totally new roster along with staff heading into this season. A team full of talented veteran players who understand playing at the college level of basketball now meet a coach who understands what it means to play on the biggest stage in college basketball at Kentucky, and is now the coach of that program.

Pope went on The Field of 68 podcast to discuss many topics, and one question he ws asked is who has stood out in practices as the season nears. What's encouraging for Kentucky fans is the head coach says everyone on the roster has made strides, and no one has been singled out among the rest talent-wise.

"Guys are just showing themselves. There hasn't been a ton of separation. We have really good veteran players. The nice thing is everybody is making huge strides. So I'm gonna end up - I'm gonna start talking about one guy, and then I'm gonna tag team on to the next guy. I've kind of gone through this question before. I'm super proud of our guys. They're getting better and better, and we still have a long way to go. Our growth trajectory is extraordinary right now."

- Pope on the whole team making strides.

Pope does think this team can grow a lot throughout the season, and he's really liking the potential of just how better they can get by the time March comes around.

"What's interesting is, we have a bunch of fifth-year guys, and so normally you have fifth-year guys and feel like, 'Hey, we're gonna be what we are.' I don't feel like that at all. I feel like our trajectory is insane. I feel like we're gonna be so much better at the end of the season than we are right now. It's pretty exciting."

- Pope on how much the team can grow.

It's important to have growth throughout the season, obviously, and if Pope thinks they have a huge trajectory path throughout the season is nothing but exciting for Kentucky fans who are dying to see them face other competition. They'll get just that on Wednesday night when the Wildcats face Kentucky Wesleyan in an exhibition game in Rupp Arena.