Just last season, Kentucky Wildcats HC Mark Pope proved he can coach. He rebuilt the Wildcats’ roster after several players left the program and former HC John Calipari took over at Arkansas. Pope then guided the team to a 24-12 record and a Sweet 16 appearance. Coming into this season, he has six players returning from that squad. Still, Kentucky sits at three points on Jamal Mashburn’s panic meter

So far, the team is 4-2, with a recent 88-46 win over Loyola MD. Still, while the scores look solid, the struggles are obvious. As Jamal Mashburn put it best on TNT late Thursday evening, “I would say ‘3’ at this particular point. And I would say the reason why is because how they are playing. They’re not shooting the ball well from three. They’re not guarding at three. They’re not rebounding. They look like kittens more than Wildcats, in my opinion.”

And his opinion carries weight. Notably, Jamal is one of the greatest Kentucky Wildcats, a former consensus First-Team All-American and SEC Player of the Year. Plus, he’s an NBA veteran with 11,644 career points and 3,271 rebounds. 

He added, “When you spend $22 million in NIL, there has to be some accountability… You’ve got to find a stud… And I’m hearing the head coach, Mark Pope, doing a lot of taking control of that particular locker room. And when it’s not player-led, that’s going to be difficult.”

According to the Herald-Leader, Kentucky’s payroll this season is around $22 million, pulled directly from the athletic department’s budget. Yet despite the investment, the talent has not met expectations. But why?? 

Well, the additions of Jayden Quaintance, Mouhamed Dioubate, Malachi Moreno, and Brandon Garrison make for a promising frontcourt on paper. But Quaintance is still out. Moreno is solid but makes mistakes. Garrison struggles against strong teams. He’s a good passer, but not a strong rebounder, which has hurt Kentucky on the glass.

In their two matchups against ranked teams, Kentucky fell behind early and never recovered – trailing by 20 in a 96-88 loss to No. 6 Louisville and by 24 in an 83-66 loss to No. 18 Michigan State. Against the Spartans, the Cats were limited to 35% shooting and just 23% from three, going 7-of-30. They were also outrebounded by 42-28.

“We’re disappointed and discouraged and completely discombobulated right now,” shared Mark Pope after the loss.  And while players like Denzel Aberdeen, Jaland Lowe, Collin Chandler, and Jasper Johnson can score in bunches, Lowe is out. That injury affects the starting point guard spot.

Last season, Acaden Lewis decommitted, and Travis Perry transferred. This left Pope struggling to add depth at the point guard position. But the issues don’t end here. Even Otega Oweh, a proven scorer, hasn’t been nearly as aggressive – and nobody knows why. So, the struggles are real.

Joining Mashburn on the Panel was Bruce Pearl, who is even more concerned about the Wildcats’ form. Pearl even took a shot at all the “overspending”. 

“I think the thing with Kentucky, for me, is too many. They’ve got too many pieces. They have spent starter money on backups,” Pearl said. “So you’ve got a locker room of guys that all think they’re all supposed to start, they all think they’re supposed to finish, none of them are going to play a role. None of them are going to be unselfish.

“I actually think less is more sometimes with championship teams. The Fab Five had to play roles. You had some guys that had to settle for less when they were on other teams. I think that’s Kentucky’s problem. And I think it’s bigger than 3. I think it’s maybe 4.”

Unfortunately, the $22 million will keep popping up until Mark Pope turns things around. 

How has Mark Pope been managing lately?

After Kentucky’s win over Eastern Illinois, Pope admitted the team lacks an identity.

“We’re in the process of learning and growing together as a team… I believe that this group can become something,” he said. “In this early part of the season, I feel like the identity we thought we carried may have been stripped away. Maybe we’re facing some reality right now.”

To manage this, Pope is experimenting with lineups. Kentucky used 19 different five-man groups against Michigan State alone. So far this season, they’ve used around 70 total lineups. Eleven players are logging at least 13 minutes, but none are playing more than 26.

Clearly, Pope is still searching for the right mix. But December won’t make things easier. Four of their first seven games will be against ranked opponents.