Mark Pope's first season in Lexington was a resounding success. After years of treading water with John Calipari, Kentucky finally brought in a fresh voice and a more modern perspective in the form of a beloved Wildcats alum.
Forced to rebuild Kentucky's entire roster on the fly after Calipari took the majority of last season's holdovers to Arkansas, Pope still managed to engineer one of the best offensive teams in the country. The result was a Sweet 16 run that seems to prime Kentucky for years of high-level success.
Unlike Calipari, who built his teams around an absurd volume of five-star freshmen, Pope's team-building style tends to align better with the most successful programs in college basketball. He hammers the transfer portal and likes to develop talent in-house, over a period of several years when it's possible. NIL has changed the landscape of college basketball, but veteran leadership and continuity are important assets — if increasingly rare.
That said, you don't coach at Kentucky without attracting top high school recruits. The Wildcats were reportedly among the finalists for Nate Ament, 247 Sports' No. 4 recruit in this year's class, but the talented 6-foot-11 shot-maker ultimately landed with Rick Barnes and Tennessee. Not only did he pass on Kentucky, he went to an arch rival.
Now, Pope is tasked with restoring faith in the Wildcats' offseason. His main priority moving forward could not be clearer.
Kentucky needs to do everything to land Acaden Lewis after Nate Ament's Tennessee betrayal
Washington, DC native Acaden Lewis, ranked No. 35 among his peers at 247 Sports, is the top-rated recruit without a college commitment. He is expected to choose between Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina, UConn and Michigan — a who's-who of blue blood programs with long histories of winning.
Right now, the 247 Crystal Ball predicts Lewis to Kentucky, with four of four experts arriving at the same conclusion. At 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, Lewis is an uber-skilled southpaw who should thrive out of the gate in college. His twitchy handles, feather-soft touch and potent pull-up game offer a strong foundation offensively. He's still developing his lead guard chops — essential, considering his lack of size and strength — but the self creation and shot-making will allow him to contribute right away.
Kentucky already has a full backcourt with Pitt transfer Jaland Lowe and four-star freshman Jasper Johnson en route, but Pope's offense is predicated on jacking up tempo and generating a high volume of 3s. There is certainly a place for Lewis in the rotation. He probably isn't one-and-done material, but that's not a negative for Kentucky; ideally, Pope gets a few years of solid production out of Lewis before he seriously considers the NBA.
The Wildcats have already won the transfer portal. In addition to Lowe, a gifted pull-up shooter and table-setter, Kentucky has secured the transfer commitments of junior wing Mouhamed Dioubate from Alabama and sophomore big Jayden Quaintance from Arizona State. The latter averaged 2.6 blocks in 29.5 minutes per game with the Sun Devils as a 17-year-old freshman and projects as a potential top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Kentucky will have the appropriate blend of established veterans and majorly talented up-and-comers. With Lewis on board, Kentucky would profile unambiguously as a top contender in the SEC. If Pope can land the plane here, folks will forget all about the Nate Ament whiff.