Year 2 feels different, Mark Pope can sense it. The man knew what he was signing up for when he took the reins at Kentucky, but no one said the first year would be easy. He built a roster and a staff on the fly, turned doubters into believers, and still led the Wildcats to a 24-12 finish and a Sweet Sixteen run. But that was just the beginning. Now, even with the sting of losing Travis Perry still fresh, Pope isn’t worried. He calls his Year 2 squad “deep” and “skilled.”

And if you saw them in action vs. the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers, you know exactly what he means.

Now, exhibition games are supposed to be fun. But the Wildcats didn’t exactly play around in their 78–65 win over Purdue. And mind you, they did it without their starting point guard Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance. But

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