Trent Noah's offseason emphasis is on getting stronger, but also being more creative on defense

After a freshman season that saw him play more minutes than many expected, Trent Noah is back for year two with the Wildcats.

A product of Harlan County, Noah could have transferred out of Kentucky earlier in the offseason, potentially searching for a larger role at a program where more minutes might be available. But even the idea of leaving his home state and the team he grew up cheering for never crossed his mind. There is unfinished business left in Lexington.

“No. Nah. This is the greatest place on earth,” Noah said Monday when asked if he thought of transferring. “I love Coach (Mark) Pope’s vision for me and he sees kind of the same path that I see. That’s what we’re looking to do this year and on the way win number nine.”

Clocking in at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, Noah showed his value as a true freshman in 2024-25. He only averaged 11 minutes per game in the 24 contests he appeared in, but was big enough to grab rebounds and skilled enough to knock down three-pointers. With a full year of experience now to his name, what exactly does Pope’s vision for Noah look like as a sophomore in 2025-26?

“Definitely getting stronger, that was one of the biggest emphases,” Noah said. “Looking to improve my game on both ends of the floor, trying to put the ball on the deck more, and creating for others.

“Getting bigger, faster, stronger, that’s the main thing. Continuing to bring gravity on the floor, to open up driving lanes, stuff like that, and then using my shot to put the ball on the deck and get in the lane and create for others. And then we’ve kind of been talking about locking down the defensive end. He thinks I can be a really good steals guy. He talks about the defensive IQ, and then the defensive abilities, kind of two different things. And he thinks that I have a really good defensive IQ, and if I can just put those two together, then he sees a strong defender in me.”

The defensive end of the floor probably isn’t the first thing the Big Blue Nation thinks of when talking about Noah’s game. He produced just three steals and one block in 268 minutes played last season. While he wasn’t a full-time traffic cone on defense, it was far from being his strong suit. Noah just wasn’t quick or fast enough to consistently keep up with SEC-level athletes.

By “getting bigger, faster, stronger”, he should naturally improve on defense as he continues to work on his overall game. He now knows what it takes to succeed as a college defender, too. But it was his line about being a “steals guy” that stands out. Noah is never going to be the quickest person out there, so he has to get creative with how he can impact the defensive end of the floor.

“Here and there, take some more chances, maybe shoot a gap or two, kind of doing things a little outside of the box,” Noah explained when asked what it means to be a “steals guy”. “Like Otega (Oweh) is really good at: he’s supposed to be here, but he takes a shortcut, and it ends up well. I guess you just gotta take a little risk, and then you just gotta see the play ahead.

“So like last year, especially the beginning, I thought I was very behind. I mean, I was just trying to hang in there and just trying to pick up on the game. And now I have a year under my belt. Have a better feel, I know where I need to be, and then hopefully it puts me in the right position before the ball even comes.”

There were likely stretches last season when playing defense in practice was more challenging than the actual games. That might be the case again in 2025-26. But Noah will be much more prepared for the challenge this time around.

“It was definitely a rude awakening coming in from high school,” Noah said. “And then I’m guarding Otega in the summer, and I was just getting fried, but I feel like it definitely made me grow up faster. Me and Coach Pope was talking about that, that just getting exposed so early, it kind of made me pick up faster at a quicker rate.

“And now it’s definitely not easy to guard Otega, but I have a little more feel now than I did whenever I first got here.”

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