Mark Pope faces major expectations as he begins his third season as Kentucky’s coach on Tuesday when the No. 23 Wildcats host Manhattan in Lexington, Ky.
The Wildcats, who went 22-14 last season, enter the season ranked for the 18th straight year and for the 35th time in the last 36 seasons. Still, there is pressure on Pope to produce at his alma mater. In his first two seasons, the Wildcats have not finished higher than sixth in the Southeastern Conference, and the program has not made a Final Four since 2015.
While Kentucky lost four starters and 11 players overall, Pope landed one of the top players from the transfer portal, Milan Momcilovic. As a junior at Iowa State last season, the 6-foot-9 forward led the nation in 3-pointers made (136) and 3-point shooting (48.7%) and earned All-Big 12 honors while averaging 16.9 points per game.
In Kentucky’s three exhibition games, Momcilovic averaged 16.7 points per game and went 9-for-20 (45%) beyond the 3-point arc.
However, the most impactful player this season could be the lone returning starter, Malachi Moreno. The 7-foot center from nearby Georgetown, Ky., came to the Wildcats as a McDonald’s All-American. While he made the SEC’s All-Freshman team last season, averaging 7.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, he saw it as a disappointment for himself and the team.
“We let a lot of people down,” he said at the team’s media day. “Especially for me, last year is not the year I wanted to have. So, this year is the year I need to have, and I want to have. I want to win (national title) No. 9.”
In Kentucky’s 90-76 overtime win over UCF on Wednesday that closed Kentucky’s exhibition schedule, Moreno scored 16 points while going 6-for-10 and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.
The part that impressed Pope the most, though, was the 36:37 in playing time, pointing out that the sophomore worked on his conditioning in the offseason after averaging just 22.6 minutes per game last season.
“Somebody brought a big box of doughnuts by the office the other day, and (Moreno) came through,” Pope said. “I’m like, ‘Hey, grab some doughnuts.’ He said, ‘Coach, I don’t eat sweets anymore.’
“He’s worked so hard on his conditioning, and the game has become more fun for him because fatigue doesn’t become an inhibiting factor for him.”
The Jaspers (12-20 last season) have posted just two campaigns of .500 or better since the 2015-16 season. This season, the Metro Conference coaches picked Manhattan to finish 10th out of 13 teams in the league formerly known as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
This season’s squad will be led by newcomer Ben Tweedy. The Australia native earned a spot on the preseason all-conference third team. A 6-foot-4 guard, Tweedy averaged 9.4 points per game while starting all 33 games for Colgate. He also connected on 38.5% (42 of 109) of his 3-point attempts. Coach John Gallagher said the junior will bring “elite leadership” and experience to the squad.
Manhattan last played a ranked team on Nov. 24, 2023, when it lost 90-60 to then-fifth-ranked UConn.
“Opening at Kentucky in Rupp Arena is the kind of environment that shows our guys what this game is all about, and it’ll get our guys ready for our conference schedule,” Gallagher said in a statement.