Pope Excited About 'Hungry' 2025-26 Cats
Kentucky basketball head coach met with the media on Tuesday, covering a variety of topics, but primarily focused on the new players who will be wearing the UK uniform this fall.
Pope really likes the group he has coming in, especially with a few veterans returning.
“I think the guys who have chosen to be here are guys who are starving to come test themselves every single day in practice, to get better,” Pope said. “I’ve got hungry, hungry guys. I’ve got guys who have unique, distinguishable skill sets that fit us really well. So, I’m excited about this crew.”
On player who remains a question mark for next season is Otega Oweh. He’s currently testing the NBA Draft waters and has until May 28 to make a decision on whether or not to return to college basketball. Pope believes that Oweh’s best basketball is still ahead of him.
“Otega’s physicality is elite and that shows up in a lot of ways,” Pope said. “He grew so much last season in terms of winning the point of attack over and over. Like all of us, he has so much room to grow. I think he can become an elite level playmaker.”
One of the more interesting stories among the new players is Croatian Andrija Jelavić. Pope likes Jelavić not only as a player, but also as a person.
“My first face time conversation with him was beautiful. From the first few minutes talking, I was like, wow, this kid is really special,” Pope said. “He loves the game of basketball. He loves to hoop. He wants to hoop all the time. He’s with a really good organization. He knows Kentucky. The more and more this became real, the more emotional he got. Like all of us, the opportunity to be associated with Kentucky basketball is a little bit beyond his wildest dreams. He was pretty emotional about the whole process.”
Kentucky picked up two transfers from SEC schools this offseason. Mo Dioubate transferred from Alabama to UK, while Denzel Aberdeen left Florida to come play in Lexington. Pope thinks that the experience of knowing the league will help both Dioubate and Aberdeen.
“It’s nice, the SEC guys know the league,” Pope said. “They know the physicality and they know the talent and they know the flow and venues are going to be familiar for them. But mostly, I’m excited about the guys that we got. Mo Dioubate, I think he’s a special person. And his skill set fits us in a brilliant way. I can’t wait to see what he can do for us on the court. Denzel Abernathy, he’s coming here wearing a big, fat, giant ring and there’s no way to replace that kind of experience. And he’s a beautiful kid. He cares about people and he’s an incredibly talented basketball player.”
The leader of the 2025-26 UK offense will be point guard Jaland Lowe, who transferred to UK from Pittsburgh. Pope has really high hopes for Lowe and thinks he will make the Cats a much better team.
“We have really good guards and Jaylin Lowe is certainly one of those,” Pope said. “He’s been through it. He’s a veteran player, put up big numbers last year, carried a huge responsibility last year. He wants to make guys better, he wants to elevate guys. I love his ability as a playmaker. He’s clearly a kid who will score.”
Jayden Quaintance, the transfer power forward from Arizona State, is still rehabbing an injury and may or may not be able to play at the beginning of the season. Still, Pope likes having
“We’ll see,” Pope said of Quaintance’s status. “The one thing I know about him, he’s an incredible talent and we’re going to go as fast as we can with the absolute most caution that we can. He’s working really hard. He’s making tremendous progress. He’s just a really special person.”
Two Kentucky natives, Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno, are set to join the Cats as freshmen this fall. Pope thinks both players could be standouts very soon.
“I think Jasper Johnson is a superstar,” Pope said. “I expect him to come in here and be great. He has got a really, really incredible skill set. He’s one of those guys who just go get a shot whenever they want. He’s got poise about him. I think he’s a big shot maker. I expect him to be great.”
Moreno continues to draw rave reviews.
“This Malachi Moreno, it’s seems like every day, college evaluators and NBA evaluators fall more and more in love with him,” Pope said. “He just keeps getting better. We’re really excited to have him on here.”
There’s an old saying that players make the most improvement between year one and year two. Pope has seen his players do exactly that throughout his coaching career.
“Our guys make a massive jump from year one to year two,” Pope said. “Wherever I have coached, year two is so fun. We expect all of these returners to be much, much better than they were last year. Collin Chandler is a great example. He’s so hungry right now, he’s been working really, really hard.”
Pope has seen Brandon Garrison take on more of a leadership role this offseason. He likes how the junior to be is working on his craft this summer.
“He needs to be a leader,” Pope said. “I’m really proud of him, how he’s approached this offseason. He’s been really hungry. He’s been working hard. He’s grown. It’s been awesome.”
Pope is really high on Harlan County native Trent Noah as he prepares for his second season at UK.
“It would be impossible for me to love Trent Noah any more than I do right now,” Pope said. “Trent is made different. He is a joy and he’s coming back as a vet. He’s working really hard also and he’s incredibly focused.”
The Cats traditionally face one of the nation’s toughest schedules, and this year will be no different. Kentucky has already announced games against Louisville, Michigan State, Gonzaga and St. John’s for the upcoming season, in addition to an exhibition game against Purdue. Pope loves the challenge of facing tough teams.
“I love playing great teams all the time. I love it,” he said. “I think it’s really important. And any time there’s any chance we can get great teams to come into Rupp, we’re going to take it. I’m excited about that for our fan base. When you play against great teams, that teaches you so much about yourself.”
One of the games that’s sure to draw the most attention is that December showdown between Pope and his coach at UK, Rick Pitino. Pope is very excited about facing his former head coach, and even issued (jokingly) a challenge to the St. John’s coach.
“I’m so hyped, I’ll be honest with you,” Pope said. “I’m putting this out there so Coach P can hear it, I’m bringing the suit game. I already started planning. Coach, just be ready, OK? And the game’s going to be elite.”
Pope wants the Kentucky program to be the best at everything, to be elite and, most of all, to win.
“This is the flagship program in the country and I’m fully onboard with all of it,” Pope said. “We want to play the hardest schedule. We want to play the best teams. We want to win the most games. We want to have the best players. We want to have the coolest uniforms. We want to have the most media attention. This is Kentucky and we’re going to do this the very best we can.”
