LEXINGTON — When Kentucky basketball opens the season Nov. 4 against Wright State, it won’t only be the first game under new UK coach Mark Pope. The 2024-25 Wildcats will be something unforeseen for the winningest program in the history of college basketball. That’s because, according to bigbluehistory.net — a statistical database devoted to detailing every aspect of Kentucky’s men’s basketball program — it will mark the first time a UK squad takes the court without returning a scholarship player from the previous season.
Five members of last season’s team (Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards, Tre Mitchell, Antonio Reeves and Reed Sheppard) departed to begin their professional careers. The other seven scholarship Wildcats — Aaron Bradshaw, Jordan Burks, Joey Hart, Zvonimir Ivišić, Ugonna Onyenso, Adou Thiero and D.J. Wagner — entered the transfer portal.
But Pope and his staff wasted no time rebuilding the roster, leaning heavily into the transfer market.
Nine transfers joined the program this offseason: guards Koby Brea, Lamont Butler, Kerr Kriisa, Otega Oweh and Jaxson Robinson, forwards Ansley Almonor, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams and center Brandon Garrison.
Evan Miyakawa, a basketball statistician who runs the analytics website EvanMiya.com, said the Wildcats worked wonders in the transfer portal.
Considering they lost their entire roster and had to start from scratch, it’s really impressive,” Miyakawa told The Courier Journal. “I think they’ve gotten guys who fit Mark Pope’s coaching style. I think they’ve got a mix of good offensive and defensive players. So while I honestly don’t think there’s a star player on this team, the depth on this team is really good. I think the rotation is going to be one of the strongest in the SEC.
“From an analytics perspective, there’s a lot to love here.”
The traditional recruiting services — the “big four” of Rivals, 247Sports, ESPN and On3 — don’t have Carr, a sweet-shooting 6-foot-11 forward who spent the past two seasons at Wake Forest, as a marquee pickup for Kentucky.
Rivals had the highest opinion of him, ranking him as the No. 65 overall player in the portal. 247Sports placed him No. 67. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello slotted him 84th. On3 had him at No. 87.