At long last, Kentucky basketball is here, Mark Pope making his public coaching debut in Lexington with the Wildcats hosting scouts from all 30 NBA franchises for the program’s 10th annual Pro Day. The 2024-25 squad took the floor for individual and team drills while closing out with a five-on-five live scrimmage portion in the two-hour event inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
How did things go? KSR was in attendance to gather all of the top takeaways.
Mark Pope’s coaching style in full effect
This was my first time being able to watch Pope coach in person. Sure, he was likely still tamer than he normally is behind closed doors (considering there were dozens of media members and NBA personnel in attendance), but we definitely got a feel for who Pope is as a coach and what his style is like.
While we still heard him scream “GOOO!!” from the sidelines during a fastbreak — apparently not fully ready to see the John Calipari era come to an end — there was plenty of open dialogue happening on the floor between coach and player. One particular moment stood out to me even after Pro Day had concluded.
After a 3-on-3 drill, Pope called out to Wake Forest transfer forward Andrew Carr. Pope asked Carr to explain why he made a specific move on defense and what his thought process was. It wasn’t rhetorical by any means. Carr answered Pope, who then asked Carr if he thought that was the right decision to make. Carr replied yes, Pope gave him a thumbs up, and the next drill started.
This didn’t come off as a situation where Pope was trying to act like he knew what Carr did wrong so he could trap him into a corner either. This was a head coach legitimately trying to understand the thought process of his player. It might be a small and mostly irrelevant note, but I found the exchange to be interesting.
— Zack Geoghegan
An insane shooting team
Speaking of Carr, there was a period where he and Travis Perry went make for make on corner threes, the newcomers refusing to miss for several minutes. You expect that from the latter, who knocked down 712 career 3-pointers at Lyon County before his legend grew this summer, doing things Pope has “never seen at any level of basketball.” As for the 6-11 forward, that was new for Big Blue Nation, even considering his 37.1 percent mark from deep on nearly three attempts per game last season at Wake Forest. He looked the part — and even put Perry on a poster in one segment of practice.
Factor in Koby Brea’s presence as a coin-flip shooter, Kerr Kriisa’s confidence (more on that in a second), Ansley Almonor’s consistency, Trent Noah’s emergence and Jaxson Robinson’s creation, and it’s somewhat of a shock the nets didn’t burst into flames before the night was over. The shooting and scoring depth is just insanely deep with this group and they’re all comfortable letting it fly.
Pope says he “put together the best shot-making team in the country” last week, and after watching the Wildcats at Pro Day, I believe him.
— Jack Pilgrim
Lamont Butler is your starting point guard
It didn’t take long to realize why Mark Pope moved so quickly (and quietly) to sign Lamont Butler out of the portal. Of many Pro Day standouts inside Historic Memorial Coliseum, the San Diego State transfer may have shined the brightest as the team’s best two-way threat.
Butler jumped out as a clear veteran presence who carries himself as Kentucky’s leader and starting point guard. He’s won at college basketball’s highest level and will impact games in a similar way in Lexington as an impact defender with grit and toughness while also using his strength and physicality to earn paint touches at will and score with force around the basket. And while I wouldn’t call shooting a strength, he also makes open looks and takes them with confidence, enough to keep defenders honest and open up the other areas of his game.
Anything you get from him offensively is icing on the cake, though, because he’s that impressive defensively. Active and intense with positional versatility, equally comfortable battling guards and bigs all over the floor, it’s hard to imagine Butler won’t be making a run at SEC DPOY honors.
— Jack Pilgrim
Brandon Garrison fighting for minutes
Sophomore Brandon Garrison is almost certain to start the season as the backup center to Amari Williams, but he showed more juice than I expected during Pro Day. It has me thinking he could turn that into some real playing time from game one.
We know about Garrison’s shot-blocking skills. It’s what made him an attractive high school prospect and one that NBA scouts are high on down the road. But I was especially impressed with how quickly and fluidly he moved his feet when defending on the ball. Garrison doesn’t run around like a 6-foot-10, 250-pound big man. He chops his feet well, doesn’t lean too far one way or the other when in his stance, and always has his long wingspan spread across his body. It made getting past him a difficult challenge.
One drill that stood out with Garrison required him to defend four players on the perimeter in quick succession. The offensive player would receive the ball and have five seconds to score. Garrison didn’t allow a bucket in any of them and was versatile in the way he defended. He blocked a shot in front of the rim, deterred two attempted drives, and blocked a three-pointer in less than 25 seconds.
I was also impressed with Garrison’s shooting touch. I’ll preface by saying I don’t expect him to shoot many — if any — three-pointers this season, but I would at least feel confident when he’s at the free-throw line. The shooting form is clean and one motion. He nailed back-to-back pull-up three-pointers during a fastbreak drill.
I’m still not entirely sure what to expect out of Garrison overall going into this season. While I do think he could struggle on offense, his ability to defend multiple positions could be invaluable.
— Zack Geoghegan
Kerr Kriisa brings fire and shot-making
Who else do you know willing to take a charge in a one-on-one drill in front of dozens of NBA scouts? Who else would scream at the top of their lungs and flex after making a contested three during a defensive closeout drill? There is only one.
Kerr Kriisa may be a polarizing figure in the college basketball world with opponents absolutely despising his existence, for Big Blue Nation, he’s going to be an absolute treat. His shot is pure and consistent, delivering make after make on both open and contested looks while finding teammates for lobs and drawing offensive fouls on the other end. What you see is what you get with the fifth-year senior, never failing to bring the fire and intensity while being the most confident person in every room he’s in.
When he makes a big play, he’s going to let you know about it. And to his credit, he makes a lot of them.
He’s a pest, but he’s our pest.
— Jack Pilgrim
Memorial Coliseum is AWESOME
This was my first time actually stepping inside the fully renovated Memorial Coliseum. I was already planning on coming to watch a handful of Kentucky women’s basketball games in that building this season, but now I’m even more excited to do so. While the layout of the gym is similar to what it was before the remodel, everything is upgraded: seats, scoreboard, sound system (including the pumped-in crowd noise), all of it. I was actually cold from the newly installed air conditioning.
Half of the arena’s seats are chairbacks while the other half are bleachers. There’s an area at one end of the arena behind a baseline for what I assume will be ticket holders who spend the extra dollar. It has a bar with the ability to walk around the concourse so you’re not glued into one seat for the entire game. Everything just looks… fancier. Memorial Coliseum should be a perfect venue for the Blue-White Game next Friday.
— Zack Geoghegan
Collin Chandler will be worth the patience
The freshman guard is a fascinating player with quite the range between his floor and ceiling at this stage. His high-arching jumper can be inconsistent at times and he still appears to be a step behind from what we saw at Pro Day, driving into traffic for turnovers and giving up buckets on the other end. If you were to tell me he just wasn’t quite ready to play in the SEC after two years away from competitive basketball, I’d believe you.
Right about then, though, is when he takes you off the dribble and throws down a two-handed punch or converts on a crafty reverse lay-in before knocking down a contested catch-and-shoot triple. He’s got burst and natural feel, but also rust and streaky confidence while inching back to game shape, making it tough to set a day-one expectation. How much will he contribute as a freshman? It’s too soon to tell.
What’s clear, however, is that Chandler is a player with NBA upside, arguably the highest of anyone on the roster. He’s a pure athlete with tools to be a college star en route to first-round draft status — not if, but when.
However long it takes, the payoff will be worth the patience.
— Jack Pilgrim
John Robic was in the house
A familiar face was in attendance soaking up the action with none other than former Kentucky assistant John Robic representing the San Antonio Spurs among scouts. Coach Cal’s former right-hand man chatted it up with current staffers throughout the evening with UK President Eli Capilouto even stopping by to say hello.
An important man who made quite the impact with Kentucky from 2009 to 2021.
— Jack Pilgrim