While it took a lot of work and a good amount of ups and downs, Coach Mark Pope put together a very good roster. The late addition of Milan Momcilovic is what put this Kentucky team over the edge to where fans think the Wildcats can be very good. One thing the Wildcats will have a lot of this season that was lacking a year ago is guard depth. I believe that Pope has enough really good guards that if the injury bug were to creep up on this team once again, this team should be fine. Coach Pope joined Jon Rothstein on his show to discuss his team and just how good it can be. I believe BBN is going to really like the answer Coach Pope gives. Here is what Pope had to say about his 2026-27 roster: “I like us. Like I said, we’re heavy creators; we’re heavy length. We can really shoot the ball. Right now, in the summer, we have six guys who are over 70% in all of their practice reps shooting the ball from the three-point line. We have some talent there. I think we have the ability to run and play with pace. I think we have some guys who are elite-level cutters. We have a long way to go; clearly, we’re just starting our third week of the summer, but we have high hopes with this group, and I think they have a chance to do some great things here at Kentucky.”Who does Mark Pope think can be the surprise on Kentucky's roster next season?https://t.co/c9JLel3odd (Apple) https://t.co/EsZxIkcHSA (Spotify)https://t.co/n2bBB3LgUj (YouTube) pic.twitter.com/unMHbXNwGC— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 30, 2026Shooting is the real big positive takeaway here for me as Pope seems to think it is going to be good. Last season, the Wildcats shot 34.1% from three, and this just isn’t good enough to cut it in the Pope system. The shooting has to be better, and Pope seems to believe he has the roster for that to become a reality. The length on this team like Pope said is very impressive. At times during the Pope era the Wildcats have been dominated on the boards, but I don’t believe that is going to be the case with this team. If the Kentucky Wildcats are aggressive crashing the boards this year, they have the size to be dominant pulling down rebounds. It sounds like Coach Pope likes the team he has but he is right there is a long way still to go. If it all comes together well this basketball team could be special. Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and YouTube for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow