Men's Basketball

Cody Fueger Recaps Kentucky Summer Practice and Is Cautiously Optimistic, “We Got a Chance to Be Really Good”

Published

9 months ago

August 13, 2024

Kentucky basketball assistant Cody Fueger recaps summer practice and believes Kentucky "can be really good" this season.

Chet White | UK Athletics

August is here. That means college football is just on the horizon, but it also means the end of summer practice for Kentucky Basketball as players go home to spend time with their families before the start of the fall semester.

To recap, during the two months of summer practice, Cody Fueger sat down with Sources Say to discuss offensive/defensive strategies, in-game adjustments, and recruiting philosophy.

The first takeaway? “We got a chance to be really good, but there’s a lot of stuff that we got to get better at,” Fueger said.

In regard to the latter, he notes that the players are “really coachable,” and that will be extremely important as the staff continues to install their system and principles heading into the season.

The first three things they want to get established, specifically on the offensive end, are the transition offense, taking care of the ball, and crashing the offensive glass. As for the defensive end, there are four things the staff wants to build: Transition defense, “guard your yard,” ball-screen defense, and defensive rebounding. Fueger notes that those seven things are going to be Kentucky’s mainstay this season.

Installing these principles happens before the ball is ever tipped, but what about the adjustments during the game? Fueger talked through that process, and it is very analytically focused, emphasizing points per possession on both sides of the ball.

“We’ll go through this first (half), chart down every possession offensively and defensively, What’s going on, how they’re scoring, what shots they’re getting. Then, the same thing happens offensively. How they’re guarding, what’s really getting us defensively. We’ll see it a lot in-game as it’s going on, but analytics is everything, right? Points per possession, it’s everything.”

Fueger talked about in-game adjustments and the system, but how do Pope and the staff want to build future rosters?

During his introductory press conference, Pope assured that Kentucky would continue to pursue the best of the best, The ‘Burger Boys’ in high school and the best transfers. However, contrary to John Calipari, retention will be a big factor in how Pope builds his future rosters. Fueger went as far as to say it is “everything.”

“What we’ve done best as we’ve been going is retain guys,” Fueger said. “That’s super important for us, and we are going to do that at Kentucky, retain guys.”

Not having a choice this season, they had to bring in 12 new players, consisting of nine transfers (seven with just one year of eligibility) and three freshmen. Despite having two of the most well-regarded recruiters in the country, Alvin Brooks and Jason Hart, it was a group effort to build this roster.

“At the end of the day, we’re all in it together,” Fueger said. “We know as soon as we start recruiting a guy, we send out the number to everybody else on staff, and we’re all hitting him up. It’s a team effort over here, just like BBN.”

That led to a bigger point: “We’re all in this together.”

“We want everyone to feel a part of this. We’re only gonna go as far as you guys (BBN) want us to go. We need everybody, and we’re all in this together. That’s how we are as a staff. That’s how Coach Pope is. He’s got no ego. He just wants to win at the highest level, do it all together, and see us all succeed.”

The ball has yet to be tipped, and the on-court product is the most important thing, but it’s clear that this staff understands and is embracing Kentucky Basketball.

Also published on A Sea of Blue.

Related Topics:Cody Fueger Kentucky Basketball Mark Pope

Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

Published

3 days ago

April 23, 2025

Lane Mills

Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.

Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2025

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.

Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.

Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.

Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.

Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.

Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.

Men's Basketball

Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky

Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2025

Lane Mills

UF Athletics

Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.

A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.

At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat.

In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.

Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.

Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.