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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Practice Update, Mark Pope Taking a Page From NBA Hall of Famer Larry Bird

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In his first season as the Kentucky basketball head coach, Mark Pope is making sure his players "understand the assignment".
Chet White | UK Athletics

Thirty-two summer practices are in the books for the Kentucky basketball team, and former Wildcat and teammate of Mark Pope, Cameron Mills, has been reporting on those practices this offseason. For his final summer practice report, Mills had three takeaways: 32 summer practices, team bonding, and coaching offense vs. defense.

32 Summer Practices

“I cannot emphasize enough the importance of 32 practices that Mark Pope’s new team got this summer,” Mills said. “Getting kids in here that understand, or at least the bandwidth to understand that they have a brand new offense to learn. A brand new defense to learn.”

While getting players in to learn their new system and the associated X’s and O’s, it is also important for the team to learn about each other on the court. Learn teammate tendencies and gain that “sixth sense” as Mills puts it.

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Team Bonding

“Everything right now is about learning to be together and build a team. We have 13, 14 new guys this year. A whole brand new team that’s gotta learn how to gel. Coach Pope is trying to get them to gel as soon as possible.”

Pope isn’t limiting team bonding to just time on the court either. The players have golfed, bowled, and attended many UK events together this summer. In addition, the team took a “team building retreat” to Hazard to help the community, which was heavily affected by floods in 2022, and spent time together as a team. A little different from the team building of international trips in recent summers.

Coaching Offense vs Defense

Mark Pope is taking a page from his former NBA head coach Larry Bird. During Bird’s time with the Indiana Pacers, he had two assistant coaches, one specializing in offense and the other in defense. Pope is bringing that Kentucky with two modifications, those being two additional coaches thanks to the NCAA allowing up to five full-time assistants. Meaning there will be two coaches specializing in both offense and defense.

Pope’s offense is known for a lot of three-point attempts, and to prepare the players for that the staff has each player shoot 100+ threes per practice, with game speed and game cuts. Mills says it’s not just about volume, he also expects efficiency. “One through five, I can’t think of a single guy that can’t shoot at least 33 percent from the three-point line,” Mills said.

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On defense, the staff is piping in road-like environments, forcing players to learn how to communicate verbally and non-verbally, which will help in SEC road games this season.


After a short break, the players are back on campus and will resume practice this week. While football season just kicked off, basketball season is just around the corner. Big Blue Madness is just six weeks away.

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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.

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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”.

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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.

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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.

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Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky.
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. 

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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.

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