Which Kentucky players will benefit from Pope's play style the most

Mark Pope distributes a lot of minutes, which players will that positively impact?

Feb 24, 2024; Ames, Iowa, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Kerr Kriisa (3) celebrates after a basket against the Iowa State Cyclones during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports / Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

When the University of Kentucky hired Mark Pope, it wasn't only because he played and led a National Championship team here but also because he is an intelligent coach who runs a fantastic offensive system.

Pope's offensive system, with its fast-paced nature and emphasis on making a lot of shots, particularly threes, is designed for adaptability. To sustain this high-energy system, Pope requires a deep bench, ensuring that everyone gets a chance to contribute and keeping the team fresh.

Last season at BYU, Coach Pope didn't have a single player who played over thirty minutes a game, and considering Jaxson Robinson, who came off the bench, averaged the third most minutes on the team, it shows that Pope likes to play everyone to keep his system fresh.

Kerr Kriisa, Otega Oweh, and Ansley Almonor are all players who can benefit from Pope's modern philosophies. All three of these players could see substantial minutes, and that being for their physicality and great Shooting, if they play their respective roles, Kerr being a Knockdown shooter and great facilitator, Otega being a defensive menace and physical offensive scorer, or Ansley coming in hitting four threes or more in 46 percent of his games this past season, they could see there respective minutes rise.

Every team can use additional Shooting and Defense; most Kentucky fans will know this has been an issue in Kentucky's past: not having good enough depth. Pope is making sure that won't be an issue for the new Cats; he will let his players play long enough to get and stay in a rhythm, which, again, many Cats fans know has also been an issue in the past.

One thing is for sure: the BBN will be excited to watch and learn about these new Kentucky Wildcats.