Mark Pope will have one goal this offseason for the Kentucky Wildcats
Without question, it was a very successful year one for Mark Pope as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, which led to the program’s first Sweet 16 birth since 2019.
Now that the season has come to an end and Coach Pope and his staff are looking for players in the transfer portal and it is clear what needs to happen to be better for next season.
Some are concerned with the transfer portal and the fact that Coach Pope only has one player, but he will, without question, field an elite roster next season.
What has to improve from year one to year two in Lexington for Pope and his staff is the play on defense. Kentucky has had back-to-back seasons of elite offensive production but defensive struggles, and this needs to end.
The teams that go deep in March have a balanced team that includes excellent KenPom grades on both ends of the floor. That is not the case for the Wildcats of late so Coach Pope is going to improve the defense.
Coach Pope’s number one off-season goal will be to prepare the defense to be better for next season and the future. With how elite Coach Pope’s offense is, if he can make the defense better, it is scary to think how good this team is going to be.
All four of the teams currently in the Final Four have KenPom offensive and defensive rankings inside the top ten, so this will be the goal for Coach Pope next season.
