Mark Pope on Brandon Garrison: "We need him to be great next year."

Brandon Garrison started his time at Kentucky on a two-year plan, serving as Amari Williams‘ backup in year one before taking over in year two — finally turning that potential he had as a McDonald’s All-American into consistent production. From there, he’d enter the draft and let the young guys pick up where he left off on their own journeys, developing from within with Garrison taking them under his wing just as Williams did for the Oklahoma State transfer last season.

Wanting to see the process through and Mark Pope‘s loyalty along the way is what pushed him back to Lexington for a second year.

“It starts with Coach Pope, just his loyalty and his two-year plan that he talked about with me,” he told KSR back in April. “When he first came out to my house for his visit, we talked about a two-year plan — just not rushing the process, I’d say. Knowing who I’m playing with, bringing in Amari. He told me the process with him and how I’m gonna get better with him, just in practice and overall. Since he first started recruiting me, that’s the first thing he brought up to me.”

Now, it’s Garrison’s turn to mentor guys like Jayden Quaintance, Andrija Jelavic, Malachi Moreno and Reece Potter as they rock Kentucky blue for the first time in their respective careers. He’s transitioning from newcomer to experienced veteran as a junior forward.

Is he ready for that jump? Pope certainly believes so.

“Brandon Garrison showed me some signs in the last month, and certainly this summer, where he is just — like he is growing up, man. It’s so cool to see, it’s the best thing to see as a coach,” he told KSR on Thursday. “He’s talking about what he wants to be. It’s no longer kind of what he is and who he is and how he acts, but it’s what he wants to become.

“He’s done this publicly where he’s talked about Amari (Williams), that BG was blessed to have this big brother, Amari, that kind of mentored him and took care of him. He kind of wants to be that guy, and it’s a change.”

Pope already called on Garrison to be a better leader last week, adding that he’s ‘really proud’ of his approach this offseason.

“He’s been really hungry. He’s been working really hard,” he said.

So many of Garrison’s year-one talking points were about his maturity and things beyond the physical tools that made him a Burger Boy in high school. Those conversations are shifting, and now, you can start dreaming big about year two.

That’s a good thing, because Pope is demanding a junior leap out of him. Kentucky needs it.

“When you start to have guys talk about what they would like to become, then you’re like, ‘Oh, we got something here.’ He’s definitely there, man,” Pope told KSR. “We need him to be great next year. It’s going to be really important, because he’s one of the few guys that are coming back with a ton of experience. He’s going to teach everybody on the roster.”