One of the most interesting seasons of Kentucky basketball we have seen in a very long time is about to get started. The Wildcats played their first exhibition on Friday as they took down Little Rock. There were some positive takeaways but also some things that left Big Blue Nation frustrated.
This is one of the most interesting seasons because the success of Kentucky football under Will Stein has taken some of the focus away from this team. Once the real season starts for Pope's team, the fans will buy into college basketball, but BBN is really bought into football right now.
CBS Sports just put out an article where they ranked four different tiers of teams that can win it all this season. There was an S-Tier, then an A, B, and C-Tier. Pope and the Wildcats fell into the C-Tier category, which is the lowest on this list. The writer of this article, Cameron Salerno, defined the C-Tier category as "Second weekend teams, with Final Four upside." No Kentucky fan will be happy to see the Wildcats under this category, but I do believe that it is fair.
The reason that I feel it is fair to put the Wildcats in this category is that there are many "what ifs" surrounding this team. Some believe that Malachi Moreno will turn himself into a first-round pick this year, but he has to go out and prove it. BBN believes players like Alex Wilkins, Ousmane N'Diaye, and Kam Williams will be breakout superstars in college basketball, but they have to go out and prove it.
That is the theme here for the Wildcats and proves having Pope's team in this category is fair. The Wildcats could be a really good basketball team this season, but they have to go out on the floor and prove that they have this upside. After watching the first exhibition for Pope and the Wildcats, there are a lot of things to clean up, but also the defense looked better than I was expecting.
This is a very important season in Lexington for Pope. He really needs to have a good year and go on a run in the NCAA Tournament to prove that he is the guy for this program. If the Wildcats don't have a good season, J Batt might have to take action. Kentucky fans really want to see Pope succeed this season, but it is time for him to get it done.
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