As the weather gets colder and the leaves start to change, Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball season is nearly here.
With Big Blue Madness and the Blue-White game now behind us, the Wildcats will finally get the opportunity to play against someone other than themselves for the first time since July at GLOBL JAM, as they take on in-state Georgetown College in a preseason exhibition on Friday.
Coming off a successful season in 2023, which included a 24-4 regular season and an NAIA Final Four appearance in 2023, the Tigers will provide Kentucky with ample competition ahead of their season opener on November 6th.
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Let’s take a look.
Experimentation
In the history of Kentucky basketball, the Wildcats have never lost an exhibition game to a non-professional team. In three exhibitions against Georgetown College, the Wildcats have won by an average of 39.3 points. So don’t expect Kentucky to lose on Friday, but do expect a lot of experimenting.
Kentucky hasn’t played an opponent since July at GLOBL. Since then, a little bit has changed. Kentucky has had nearly a full month of practice, added another seven-footer in Zvonimir Ivisic, the freshmen have matured more, and Rob Dillingham has added 20 pounds to his frame.
With that said, Friday’s exhibition likely won’t be extremely entertaining in terms of score, but it should be entertaining to see what the staff experiments with ahead of the season with lineups, actions, and more.
Less than two weeks out from the season opener, not one of Kentucky’s three seven-footers has appeared in any game action for fans to see. Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso are still recovering from foot injuries, while Zvonimir Ivisic is still awaiting on the NCAA to approve his eligibility while trying to make up ground in practice.
Given the lack of depth, look for Kentucky to continue to develop their small ball game plan and lineups, which will be beneficial early in the season while the bigs get up to speed. This will consist of a lot of Tre Mitchell, Jordan Burks, Adou Thiero, and Justin Edwards playing in the 4 and 5 spots, and in turn, a more modern playstyle.
While Kentucky doesn’t play a Power Five team until Kansas on November 14th, the Wildcat frontcourt will be tested in their season opener against New Mexico State, as they will match up against multiple bigs measuring 6-foot-10+. So with limited opportunities, it will be key to find ways to still be effective with limited size, specifically in rebounding and post-defense.
Antonio Threeves
In his last two games in the United States, Antonio Reeves has shot a combined 2-19 from three (1-10 vs Kansas State, 1-9 Blue-White game). That’s not good. However, Reeves did shoot an unreal 56.3 percent (18-32 3P) from three at GLOBL JAM in Canada this summer.
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So, does Kentucky need to move this season’s games to Canada? No, but Reeves does need to take advantage of these confidence-building opportunities, especially as a shooter. Fortunately, Kentucky has the personnel this season not to be as reliant on Reeves, but he is certainly expected to carry a lot of the scoring load.
Another key to watch for in this game is Reeves’ defense. While he wasn’t terrible last year, it was far from being a strength, so he made it a point to improve on the defensive end this offseason.
Will be interesting to see if Reeves can shine on both ends of the floor Friday.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fSWJlE3CSBw%3Frel%3D0
Given this is an exhibition, there are no official lines or predictions. However, given the talent disparity in this exhibition, expect Kentucky to win by 25+.
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That said, at times in the past, Kentucky has gotten carried away with experimenting, only beating D2 Miles College by nine points in 2021.
And with Kentucky still down Aaron Bradshaw, Ugonna Onyenso, and likely Zvonimir Ivisic, don’t expect Kentucky to win by 50+, but it will still be fun to see most of that team finally face a real opponent at Rupp Arena, which is what matters most.
Time/Date: 7:00 pm ET on Friday, October 27th, 2023 Location: Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY TV Channel: SEC Network Online Stream :WatchESPN, ESPN+, SEC Network+ or ESPN app Radio: Tom Leach and Jack Givens have the UK radio network call on the UK Sports Radio Network. Replay:WatchESPN and SEC Network (check local listings). Rosters:UK | GC
Brandon Garrison had his ups and downs during the 2024-25 season, at times making plays above his experience level on the court, and other times, causing unfortunate turnovers and making Big Blue Nation yell “pass the ball” when he attempted to show off his handles.
However, since the offseason has began, we’ve seen the backup big man from last year’s squad take major jumps in not only his skill set, but in his mentality and leadership as well.
“BG” announced that he was coming back to Kentucky on April 12 for the 2025-26 season, and since then, has been the talk of the town to be the starting center for Mark Pope’s second-year team.
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Last season, Garrison played behind Amari Williams, coming off of the bench and averaging 5.9 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game in just 17.3 minutes a night.
Having played a year already in Pope’s system, Garrison may get a nod for the starting role over one of the transfer pickups, especially since Pope and the coaching staff have been publicly vocal about his development. With young players such as Jayden Quaintance and Malachi Moreno coming in behind Garrison, you can guarantee he will play a major role in their development.
In an offseason press conference, Pope said that Garrison has already taken on more of a mentorship role heading into next season.
“He’ll be the first to tell you that Amari Williams was a life-changing mentor for him,” Pope said. “He’s excited to help some other guys come along.”
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Pope added on that Garrison went out of his way to have breakfast and talk to four of the incoming transfers, on their official visits, about Kentucky and the way the staff does things.
“Brandon Garrison showed me some signs in the last month, and certainly this summer, where he is just, like he is growing up, man,” Pope said in an interview with KSR on May 22. “It’s so cool to see, it’s the best thing to see as a coach. He’s talking about what he wants to be. It’s no longer kind of what he is and who he is and how he acts, but it’s what he wants to become.”
As the season inches closer, we’ll learn more about Garrison’s impact on the court and if he’ll be the day one starter, but regardless, off the court, you can bet he has some wisdom to pass down.
The NBA Finals tip off with familiar faces on both sides in the first-ever series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers.
For the first time since 2012, when the Thunder were led by Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City is in the NBA Finals. The franchise has the opportunity to earn its first title in Oklahoma City since the team’s rebrand and relocation in 2008.
As for the Pacers, it’s the franchise’s first NBA Finals appearance since 2000. Indiana is seeking its first championship in team history.
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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Oklahoma City’s superstar and crowning 2024-25 league MVP has continued his season-long dominance into the postseason. Averaging 31.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
Gilgeous-Alexander impressed as the Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 4-1, as he led all but one game of the series in scoring.
After an underwhelming performance in Game 3, Gilgeous-Alexander responded with a near triple-double performance, posting 40 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds. Oklahoma City defeated the Timberwolves narrowly, 128-126.
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The Thunder blew out Minnesota in Games 4 and 5 thanks to back-to-back massive performances by Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 34 and 40 points, respectively. Clinching his first bid to the NBA Finals.
At midcourt after their Game 5 victory, OKC hoisted the Western Conference Trophy in front of their home crowd. Gilgeous-Alexander walked off with the Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson Trophy for his Western Conference Finals heroics.
Cason Wallace
Second-year pro Wallace is the Thunder’s ultimate plug-and-play contributor. Although Wallace isn’t a stat-stuffing machine like Gilgeous-Alexander, his defensive prowess stands out.
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In five games, the Kentucky product averaged 25.8 minutes per game off the bench. Wallace was often assigned to guard Wolves superstar Anthony Edwards.
The 6-foot-4 guard averaged five points, 3.6 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and nearly a block and steal per game.
Known for his hustle, Wallace excels at imposing himself on defense despite commonly matching up with larger opponents. His ability to disrupt the Timberwolves’ offense created offensive opportunities, which coincided with his pass-first mentality on offense.
Wallace could be found stealing from 7-foot-1 Frenchman Rudy Gobert in the post and nailing 3-pointers on the other end.
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In Game 5, Wallace scored only five points but had two rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Helping OKC seal a commanding 124-94 victory to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals.
Isaiah Jackson
The tallest former Wildcat out of the bunch, Jackson stands at 6-foot-9 as a physical off-the-bench presence for Indiana.
Unfortunately, the big man won’t be available to play in the NBA Finals. In the fifth game of the season, Jackson suffered a season-ending Achilles tear on Nov. 1 in a matchup against the New Orleans Pelicans.
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This season Jackson made six appearances for the Pacers, including a start against the Boston Celtics early in the season. Posting seven points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
Despite the injury, the four-year Pacer would still receive a ring if Indiana wins for his short-lived contribution this season.
Game 1 of the NBA Finals tips-off on Thursday, June 5, at 8:30 p.m. ET.
While just about everything Mark Pope said at his introductory press conference went viral in one way or another, that aforementioned declaration stood out amongst his crowd of quotes like no other to a fanbase more than a decade removed from a national championship.
To the big blue nation, Coach Pope’s words last spring were a much needed battle cry. Now, as he’s set to enter his second year at the helm, Pope has made sure the team he assembled for the 2025-26 season shares the same hunger.
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It begins on a basic level, with players across the board throwing the number “9” around on social media in posts, replies, and commitments. Much like the Kentucky faithful, the newest roster to roll through Lexington isn’t afraid to make reference to the top task at hand.
For (likely) starting point guard Jaland Lowe, it’s an opportunity he “can’t miss.” “See y’all soon #BBN,” he said in a post on X, announcing his return to the collegiate level. Lowe chose a junior season at Kentucky over a chance to be chosen in the NBA Draft. Otega Oweh, the now-projected SEC player of the year, would follow suit shortly thereafter.
The Ultimate Goal
Andrija Jelavic, a primary member of the incoming unit, as well as the team’s lone international player, dubbed the title chase as “the ultimate goal” in his interview with KY Insider. “We all [the team] agree that the ultimate goal is the same and that is to bring a championship to Kentucky, to the state and the fans,” he said.
To Jelavic, it goes further than hunger. It’s a responsibility.
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And that responsibility is what sets Kentucky apart from other programs. As awkward as the conversation around John Calipari can get, when push comes to shove, much of the dissatisfaction growing within the fanbase as his tenure came to a close was rooted in the coach’s apparent disinterest in winning another championship.
Year after year went by; top-ranked roster after top ranked roster. After a while, it seemed that Kentucky was more often mentioned in the first round of the NBA Draft than it was in the NCAA Tournament. The problem persisted, the tension festered and, ultimately, the two sides split… and it all goes back to that elusive ninth title.
Name on the Front of the Jersey
Mark Pope has said before that he wants to bring in guys who are playing for the name on the front of their jersey. It just so happens that there are enough of those like-minded athletes across the nation to build one of the consensus best teams in college basketball, all of whom are in full pursuit of a new blue banner in the rafters of Rupp.
With a mindset like that shared across the board and talent like the 2025-26 team has at hand, it’s only a matter of time before that dream becomes a reality once more. For the first time in more than a decade, the entire Big Blue Nation is on the same page – and that includes the guys who can actually make it happen.