John Calipari’s final Kentucky team is similar to Mark Pope’s first.

John Calipari’s final team as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats was a frustrating team for Big Blue Nation as the Wildcats were elite on offense, but the defense was horrendous. Players like Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham made this offense a ton of fun to watch, but the defense led to the first-round loss to Oakland that sent Kentucky packing in March.

Mark Pope’s first team is at the midway point of SEC play, and the Wildcats have the same issue as last year’s team. The offense is currently ranked second overall in KenPom, while the defense sits at 112th. This is the reason the Wildcats are ranked as the 24th team in the overall KenPom rankings.

Kentucky’s 2023-24 team proved it isn’t possible to make a tournament run with these types of KenPom numbers, so this 2024-25 team needs to prove that they can play some defense, or it will be an early exit for Coach Pope in year one.

Last season, the Wildcats had the athletes necessary to play good defense, but the problem felt like more of an effort issue. This Kentucky team doesn’t have that same level of athlete, so the problem is more of a personal issue.

Coach Pope is going to have to find a way to play some zone because the Wildcats really struggle to stop the ball one-on-one. If a solution isn’t found for this Kentucky defense, it is hard to see this basketball team making a deep run in March, which would once again waste an elite offense.

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