CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein visited Mark Pope and the Kentucky men’s basketball team on Tuesday.
Rothstein made the trip to Lexington after visiting Louisville in the morning and spoke about both schools and the trajectories the programs are on year one with new head coaches Pope and Pat Kelsey.
“Kentucky looks like an NCAA Tournament team in 2025,” Rothstein said in a video posted on social media. “The makeup of the perimeter will be fascinating to watch from now until opening night on November fourth.”
Rothstein also emphasized the depth of the roster, predicting five starters — Lamont Butler, Koby Brea, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams — but also highlighting numerous other stars who “look like potential starters” such as Kerr Kriisa and Otega Oweh.
The insider also shared that Pope himself had said it was Carr that Pope himself said was Kentucky’s most efficient player, saying the former Wake Forest star is sure to be a major focal point on the roster and compared him to Alabama star Grant Nelson.
The hype surrounding the Wildcats from Rothstein invoked both excitement and relief from the Wildcat faithful, many of whom surely had doubts regarding how well a roster almost entirely composed of transfers could gel. Rothstein himself had previously picked the Cats to finish ninth in the conference.
Speaking about the Cardinals of Louisville that he visited earlier in the day, Rothstein was also complimentary of the work Kelsey had done in his first year as head coach after being hired out of the College of Charleston.
“The energy and the intensity in Pat Kelsey’s practice on Tuesday was second to none,” he said in a video on social media. “The Cards also have a deceptively good back court. Louisville will be one of the most improved teams in college basketball during the 24-25 season. If the Cards stay healthy, they look like a potential bubble team to monitor in the middle of the ACC.”
Rothstein was notably not willing to call Louisville a NCAA Tournament team in the same way he was with the Cats, but this could hardly be surprising considering the task given to Kelsey, inheriting an 8-24 program from former Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne.
He highlighted a potential starting five of Chucky Hepburn, Koren Johnson, Terrence Edwards, J’Vonne Hadley and Kasean Pryor, calling the roster “hard to figure out.”
All in all, excitement is high in both Lexington and Louisville as many fans hope for a resurrection of the top-level Kentucky-Louisville rivalry games like the one seen in the 2012 NCAA Tournament Final Four.
Kentucky men’s basketball will begin its 2024-25 season on Friday, October 11, with the annual Big Blue Madness preseason event. The event is slated to begin at 7 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.
