It was the second year of Kentucky Basketball Pro Day under the Mark Pope era, and fans alike got a chance to see the team go through drills and practice.
The team was beginning with drills to start out the event, at the very beginning the players were diving on to the floor for loose balls, meanwhile, the other section of the court the players would try to get to the defensive spot before the ball handler would so the defender would draw a charge. After the drill, the players moved on to one side of the court for the guards and the big men to do work.
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The guards worked on their 3-point shooting, where they made, at one point, 10, 3-pointers in a row with Collin Chandler, Trent Noah, Kam Williams, Jasper Johnson, Denzel Aberdeen, Braydon Hawthorne, Jaland Lowe, and Walker Horn getting in on the action.
Meanwhile, for the big men, they were working on their dribbling as they were going from baseline to half-court, back to the baseline, and they did that a few times.
Afterward, assistant coach Alvin Brooks III would pass the ball down to the block, where the players would dunk. Big man Jayden Quaintance, who is still recovering from his ACL injury, was even dunking, which is great to see.
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Here’s what you need to know from Mark Pope’s second pro day as head coach of his Wildcats.
Pro Day Takeaways
Oweh does not participate; Quaintance participates in light capacity
Senior guard Otega Oweh did not participate in UK Pro Day, as he is still recovering from his turf toe injury that he suffered earlier in the off-season. Hopefully, the ‘Cats can get him back soon, and he will be fully healthy come time for tip-off to begin the season.
Sophomore big man Jayden Quaintance was dunking and doing non-contact drills, which is a great sign as he still recovers from his ACL injury. There were reports earlier this week that he would be able to play come January, but potentially even December. We will keep track of their health as they look to get back to 100% this season.
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Malachi Moreno will impact the game when given chances
When Malachi Moreno first stepped onto campus at Kentucky, he needed to add some muscle and work out, because at times during high school he did struggle with physicality, even though he is 7-foot and taller than most high school players.
Since then, Moreno has been in the weight room, and during UK Pro Day, he was battling against Mo Dioubate, Brandon Garrison, Andrija Jelavic, and others down low in the post. With Quaintance expected to be out for a couple of months, Moreno will see playing time and will be the perfect backup to Brandon Garrison to begin the season.
Trent Noah will take a Year 2 leap
Although Trent Noah only averaged 11.1 minutes per game during the 24 games he played, he made the most of it. Noah only averaged 2.7 points per game on 45.1% shooting from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line on 1.5 attempts per game.
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From making an impact at the end of the season, Noah is now looking more impressive during UK Pro Day, he looked a lot more calm when he had the ball and felt like he was making the right plays on the court. Noah continued to make shots and was not afraid to shoot it, but it looked like he was more of a playmaker, trying to find players who were open. He only averaged 0.4 assists per game last year, but if he can start making the right plays, that number could easily go up.
Also, Noah’s defense looks like it has improved as he was battling with Malachi Moreno and Mo Dioubate down low in the post when he had to, and that is always a great sign to see.
If Noah can continue his red-hot shooting, his playmaking, and improve his defense, it will be hard to see him not getting playing time this year.
Brandon Garrison looks to be stronger
When Brandon Garrison was at Oklahoma State, he was the starting big man, but when he came to Kentucky, he was the backup big man to Amari Williams. It probably took time for Garrison to adjust, and his stats, of course, went down. Garrison made the most of it with 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in 17.3 minutes per game.
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Now, with Garrison expected to be the starting center, as Quaintance recovers from his injury, he looks like he is ready to move into that position under Year 2 of Pope.
Garrison wanted to improve on his conditioning and his play-making during the off-season, and that is what he did. He looks a lot stronger and is able to move down the floor quicker. He’s likely to be the starting center as long as Quaintance is out, so it’s imperative that Kentucky gets a big leap from BG.
Jaland Lowe will shine as PG1
During UK Media Day, Jaland Lowe said he believed Kentucky has the best backcourt in the nation. He also added that UK is Point Guard University (PGU) and that Louisville isn’t, despite Pat Kelsey’s comments earlier this offseason.
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Lowe’s production might fall off a little bit in scoring, with Oweh expected to be the leading scorer again this year, but in the other stats, he should improve. Lowe scored 16.8 points per game, but his shooting percentage wasn’t pretty, with 37.6% from the field and 26.6% from the field.
With Lowe not being the focal point of the offense, he will see an improvement in shooting, but his other stats should continue to rise, as he averaged 5.5 assists, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game.
When he had the ball tonight, Lowe looked very comfortable with it, whether that be shooting, passing, or defending. There were a couple of times when a defender would go under the screen, and Lowe would then shoot the 3 and make it consistently.
Also, he was never rushed, there were a couple of times where it looked like he was going to shoot, but instead would find the open player, whether it be under the rim or beyond the 3-point-line.
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Conclusion
Overall, this team appears to be much more physical than last year, and that will be great to see, as they struggled against many teams due to a lack of physicality. One example is that Kentucky only kept it competitive against Alabama at home, but when they played the Crimson Tide away or during the SEC Tournament, they could not keep it close for 40 minutes. Dioubate was on that team, and now it will be great to see how physical he will be.
Also, this team will have plenty of depth this year if injuries become a problem again. The team could platoon, and while Pope likely will pass on that, he could easily play up to 10 players like he has in years past with previous teams.
Kentucky will have high expectations this year, and all of the fans want is to get back to the Final Four because it has not happened since 2015, which has been too long. This team could and should be competing for the National Championship by the end of the year and will be bringing home No. 9 back to Lexington come April.
