Mark Pope excited to complete 'puzzle pieces' of Kentucky roster

Kentucky’s roster is a puzzle, and Mark Pope is gradually putting together the pieces. During an appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio on Monday, the new Kentucky head coach pulled back the curtain on the team’s roster construction.

“I’m really excited about where we are today,” Pope said. “It’s very artistic. It’s puzzle pieces. Every new piece kind of changes the picture, where you have to readjust and see what you’re looking for in the next piece.

“There’s so many things you don’t have control over,” Pope continued. “On our big board right now we’re actually working with 29 guys that we’ve really, really zeroed in on. Every time somebody bends a little bit in our direction or maybe fades a little bit out of our direction, we do more research and more reconnaissance and hear more information about guys and how they’re built. It doesn’t just change the picture for that guy but for all 30 guys.”

Kentucky currently has six players cemented on next year’s roster. The team includes four-star freshmen Collin Chandler and Travis Perry. Additionally, the team includes transfers Amari Williams (Drexel), Lamont Butler (San Diego State), Otega Oweh (Oklahoma) and Andrew Carr (Wake Forest).

Mark Pope prepared for more hard work ahead

With 13 players on a complete roster, Pope still has plenty of work to do. In fairness, he wasn’t handed a roster on a silver platter. No players from Kentucky’s 2023-24 team have committed to returning next season.

Further, five of Kentucky’s six 2024 commits re-opened their recruitment after John Calipari left the program to take over at Arkansas. Despite the obstacles in his way, Pope is thrilled with the direction the program is heading.

“I’m elated with where we are right now,” Pope said. “We got a ton of work to do. We feel like we’re really close in a lot of areas. I feel like we spend an inordinate amount of time [together] as a staff — late nights, early mornings.”

Pope and Co. will need every second. Several of Pope’s reported 29 transfer targets have been confirmed by KSR’s Jacob Polachek, including Dayton’s Koby Brea, Utah State’s Great Osobor, Utah’s Deivon Smith, FAU’s Johnell Davis and Seton Hall’s Kadary Richmond.

With staff additions such as former Baylor assistant coach Alvin Brooks III and former G League Ignite head coach Jason Hart, Kentucky’s success in the transfer portal is only expected to grow. Mark Pope stated he hopes for Kentucky’s roster to be complete by June 15.