Mark Pope's latest "first" may be the most impressive -- and promising -- of all

Mark Pope accomplished a lot in his first season at Kentucky. He won his first NCAA Tournament game, took the program back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019, and tied the NCAA record for wins over AP Top 15 teams (including many of Kentucky’s rivals), all with a roster put together in a matter of weeks that battled injuries throughout the season. Last night, he added another first, which you could argue is the most impressive of all: his first NBA Draft picks.

Koby Brea and Amari Williams became the 142nd and 143rd Kentucky Wildcats to be selected in the NBA Draft on Thursday night, extending the program’s streak of years with multiple draft picks to 16, the longest in the country. Only Duke (five) and Florida (three) had more draft picks than Kentucky. Brea heads to the Phoenix Suns with the No. 41 pick (a trade from the Golden State Warriors), and Williams to the Boston Celtics with the No. 46 pick (a trade from the Orlando Magic). Both came to Kentucky as graduate students from mid-major programs. Although both tested the NBA Draft waters last year, neither was considered a serious draft prospect. One year at Kentucky, playing for Mark Pope, changed that.

Let’s start with Brea. He left Dayton as the nation’s top three-point shooter (49.8%). Although he didn’t finish first this past season, he did make the top ten and did it at Kentucky, playing in the toughest conference in the country. Brea appeared in all 36 games as a Wildcat, totaling 93 three-pointers, the seventh most in a single season in program history. He scored in double figures in 21 games and made multiple threes in 27.

Some of Brea’s best performances came when the lights were brightest. He had a career-high-tying 23 points off a career-high 10 made field goals in Kentucky’s win over Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He won SEC Player of the Week honors after scoring 23 points, including seven made threes, in the victory over Florida, which went on to win the national championship. Brea was a perfect 5-5 from the field in Kentucky’s win at Tennessee. He had 22 points in Kentucky’s win over Oklahoma in the SEC Tournament.

Those performances erased any doubts about Brea’s ability to perform at the highest level. He was a coveted player in the transfer portal a year ago, but in Mark Pope’s system, Brea flourished against the best of the best, expanding his game from where it was at Dayton.

“The one thing is he, obviously, he’s proven during his entire career at Dayton and at Kentucky, how good he is shooting the ball,” Phoenix Suns general manager Brian Gregory said Thursday night. “But every year he’s gotten better and better and added another dimension to the shooting… That progression that we were able to evaluate and watch, was a big reason for us taking him. He is an NBA three-point shooter.”

As Pope pointed out in his statement last night, Brea’s story is even more remarkable when you consider that two years ago, he had rods inserted into both of his lower legs to help heal stress fractures in his tibias and was confined to a wheelchair for an entire summer. Now, he’s an NBA player. An incredible journey on all fronts.

Amari Williams is probably the best example of a player who might not have been drafted if not for Mark Pope. The Nottingham, England native won Coastal Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year three consecutive seasons at Drexel and was a 1,000-point scorer, but at Kentucky, he proved he’s more than just a big body. At 7’0″, 262 lbs with a 7’6″ wingspan, Williams already had a reputation as a rebounder and defender; in Pope’s system, his versatility was on display, specifically on offense.

Due to injuries in Kentucky’s backcourt, Williams had to play point guard on more than one occasion, to the point Pope dubbed him a “point center.” He totaled 115 assists, which tied Lamont Butler for the most on the team. Williams became just the second player in SEC history to finish a season with at least 375 points, 300 rebounds, 100 assists, 40 blocks, and 20 steals. He’s only the 25th player in Division I history to do it while playing fewer than 1,000 minutes. As Celtics Vice President of Basketball Operations Mike Zarren said last night, that’s a pretty good audition for the modern NBA.

“He’s been one of the best passing big men in college for a long time. He’s an elite rebounder. He’s a great guy. He had a wonderful career at Drexel, and then stepped it up another level at Kentucky. When you meet him, you’ll see he’s got just an enormous, enormous wingspan. And as you’ll see on the court, if you haven’t seen already, he’s got incredible vision. Those are just key abilities. In the modern NBA, your big guys have to be able to do all sorts of things.”

Andrew Carr and Lamont Butler are also getting NBA shots, Carr signing an Exhibit-10 contract with the Portland Trail Blazers and Butler a two-way deal with the Atlanta Hawks. We’re still waiting to hear the fate of Jaxson Robinson, the player most expected to be Pope’s first draft pick. After a breakout season at BYU, Robinson was projected to be a fringe second-round pick last year but withdrew his name to follow Pope to Kentucky. Unfortunately, injuries prevented Robinson from having the season we all envisioned for him in Lexington; however, he still flashed potential, enough to have us all staying up with hopes of hearing his name called last night.

After missing the final eight games of the season (and 12 of the last 13) with a wrist injury, Robinson was only cleared for contact earlier this month. Since then, he’s been playing catch-up, cramming in as many pre-draft workouts as possible. It’s only a matter of time before he gets an opportunity with a team (maybe he does and we just don’t know yet); given the adversity he faced throughout his college career, Robinson will most certainly make it count.

Kentucky may not have had a first-round NBA Draft pick this year, but Brea and Williams make it 18 years in a row that a Wildcat has been selected in the event, which leads the nation. Mark Pope’s first draft picks are proof of not only his eye for talent but also of his system; as evidenced by Kentucky’s incoming transfer portal and recruiting class, players are taking notice.

Several Cats are included in the early 2026 NBA mock drafts, most notably Jayden Quaintance, a projected top ten draft pick. Otega Oweh withdrew from the draft for one more year with Pope. Denzel Aberdeen, fresh off winning a title at Florida, and Mo Dioubate transferred from successful SEC programs to play for him. Kam Williams and Jasper Johnson are projected to be first-round picks next year in some mocks. Jaland Lowe was one of the top gets in the transfer portal. Only two players on next year’s roster are seniors, meaning Pope will have even more time to develop their skills.

The NBA Draft is no longer Graduation Night for Kentucky Basketball (speaking of, John Calipari only had one player selected last night, former Kentucky Wildcat Adou Thiero). Pope has made it clear that there’s only one thing that matters for this program, and that’s championships. However, his first NBA Draft as Kentucky’s head coach shows that his system provides a path to the NBA, too. Further reason to be excited about what’s ahead.