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

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2 years ago

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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“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.

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Also published on A Sea of Blue.

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Men's Basketball

Star Forward Milan Momcilovic Chooses Kentucky Over Louisville and Arizona

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24 hours ago

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June 1, 2026

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Photo via AOL

The wait is over BBN!

Milan Momcilovic has officially announced that he will be playing his senior year of college basketball at Kentucky, suiting up in the blue and white for Mark Pope and the Wildcats!

The 6-foot-8 wing averaged 16.9 points per game in the 2025-26 season, leading the nation in 3-pointers made (136) and percentage from deep (48.7%).

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Momcilovic is mostly ranked as No. 2 in most portal rankings, but ESPN has the former Cyclone as the No. 1 overall player. With that being said, this technically serves as Pope’s first No. 1 transfer during his tenure at Kentucky.

Pulling his name out of the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday, May 27, Kentucky was seemingly the favorite to land the wing during the entire sweepstakes due to positional need, scheme fit and money available to spend. He could even play another year with the Kentucky Wildcats if the “5-in-5” rule is passed and he forgoes the draft again.

Putting Pat Kelsey in a locker and outbidding him on a recruit is always great for morale, but this fills the much-needed star spot for next year’s roster. Pope and his staff have shaped the team with plenty of skilled players, but Momcilovic adds that extra layer of shooting and will serve as the go-to guy when a game may be on the line.

This will be the final player added to the 2026-27 team, with an insert at the starting small forward position in Momcilovic’s future. Pope and the Big Blue Nation have their guy, and soon enough, we’ll see the Pewaukee, Wisconsin native on Rupp Arena’s court.

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Men's Basketball

National Reporter Matt Norlander Chooses Kentucky as Landing Spot for Star Forward Milan Momcilovic

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5 days ago

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May 28, 2026

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Photo via Imagn Images

The Milan Momcilovic sweepstakes is underway, with multiple teams involved in the No. 2 overall transfer player’s recruitment. It is believed that Kentucky and Louisville are the top candidates after his decision to pull out from the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday, May 27.

Along with the in-state rivals, Arizona and St. John’s are both very well still in the mix, but the Red Storm are slowly falling out of contention after landing Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou.

On May 28, national reporter Matt Norlander cleared the air on CBS Sports’ Eye On College Basketball podcast, stating that he believes Kentucky will land Momcilovic by the end of the weekend or Monday.

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“My prediction right now is that Milan Momcilovic will go to Kentucky,” Norlander said. “My understanding is that decision is going to come in the next one, two, three days, four days max.”

He would go on to talk about the other top programs involved, stating why he thinks they will be working in an uphill battle in this bidding war.

“My forecast is that it’s Kentucky, but you know, we’ll see if Louisville can get in there,” he continued. “Arizona I don’t think has the money to contend, like I think Kentucky and Louisville just have more money to play with.”

For the worried members of the Big Blue Nation, this is certainly good news to be put out by one of the most trusted college basketball reporters at the national level.

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Going by this report and Adam Zagoria’s from NYT Sports, it shouldn’t be long until a commitment decision for Momcilovic is announced publicly.

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Men's Basketball

BREAKING: No. 2 Ranked Transfer Milan Momcilovic Removes Name From 2026 NBA Draft

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6 days ago

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May 27, 2026

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Kamil Krzaczynski | Imagn Images

Milan Momcilovic has officially removed his named from the 2026 NBA Draft and will return to college for his senior season.

Kentucky leads in his recruitment, followed closely by St. John’s, Louisville and Arizona. A backdoor to Iowa State is also still open.

The No. 2 ranked transfer would be a huge addition to Kentucky’s 2026-27 roster if he committed, averaging 16.9 points per game on 50.6/48.7/87.8 shooting splits last year. Funny enough, in the current world of college athletics that we live in, Momcilovic was responsible for eliminating the Wildcats from the NCAA Tournament, dropping 20 points in the Round of 32.

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He would go on to lose to Tennessee in the Sweet 16 with Iowa State, so at least we know that there’s some inner-hatred for a long-standing rival if he ends up a Wildcat.

He made the most three-point shots in Division I basketball and is a versatile 6-foot-8 wing, which would fit perfectly into Mark Pope’s offensive system. He completed workouts with the Chicago Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves during the draft process.

Now, the bidding war for the top dog begins, with some of the most prestigious programs in the sport placing their bets on the star forward.

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