Mark Pope was all smiles at Big Blue Madness. (Vicky Graff Photo)
The votes are in and Kentucky was picked to finish eighth in the Southeastern Conference men’s basketball media poll released Monday.
Alabama was picked to win the league title, ahead of Auburn, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Florida, Texas, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, LSU, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt in that order.
First-year Kentucky coach Mark Pope said he will rely on his team’s veteran transfers to carry the Wildcats in his first season at the helm.
“We have one of the most experienced teams in the history of Kentucky basketball and we don’t have a single player on the team that’s ever worn a Kentucky jersey,” he said.
“I have a lot of faith in our guys. I think right now we have enough capital in the bank that I think we can withstand some hits and stay together.”
Kentucky is ranked No. 23 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll, also released on Monday. Alabama is No. 2 behind No. 1 Kansas and ahead of No. 3 and two-time defending national champion UConn.
Auburn (11), Tennessee (12), Texas A&M (13), Arkansas (16), Texas (16), Florida (21) and Ole Miss (24) also are ranked in the AP poll to start the season.
Kentucky guard Jaxson Robinson was an All-SEC third-team selection, while Alabama guard Mark Sears was the preseason pick to win Player of the Year honors.
Robinson played for Pope at BYU and averaged 14.2 points per game for the Cougars last season. He was named Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year last season.
“Jaxson Robinson has been one of the most improved players in the country for two straight years and is barely scratching the surface of his potential,” Pope said earlier this summer. “His growth trajectory is incredible. He is an elite-level shooter, is increasingly dangerous off the bounce and at the rim, and has the potential to become a big-time playmaker.
“Jaxson guards with length and balance and understands how important it is to build strong relationships with his teammates. On a personal level, I’m so excited I get to finish his college journey with him in pursuit of Kentucky’s ninth national championship.”
2 Responses
All of the Kentucky haters hate that Calipari is no longer here to hold us back. They have enjoyed seeing us banished into non relevancy. Now that we have a COACH and are loaded for the season, the talking heads are enjoying the last few days to ignore Kentucky. Come January 1 the headlines will read : KENTUCKY IS BACK!
U got that right! All the haters have been sitting back laughing at us for 5 yrs and enjoying every minute of our demise–now it’s our turn to get the last laugh with one of our own leading the way to it!! I love it that we are starting out ranked so low–and I love that ARK is ranked ahead of us–lets start out quietly working our way up the ladder–it will be a process because this team is going to have some tough games this year–but let’s gradually work our way up the polls and strive for the highest tournament seed possible this year, and lets both pass and beat ARK along the way of our climb towards the top of the SEC and towards a top 4 seeding in the NCAA Tournament! The SEC is going to be really really tough this year, and that, along with our pre-conference schedule, will definitely put this new group to the test! Whatever wins they do get will definitely be earned and will be quality wins too. As far as the reg season goes, the three dates I most look fwd to are NOV 12TH, DEC 14TH, and FEB 1ST!!! We are long overdue a win in that Champions Classic, and damn, u just never want to lose to PUKE!!! But we gotta take care of Little Brother again with them coming back into Rupp–gotta keep that winning streak going–and then what am I calling SUPERBOWL SATURDAY FEB 1ST: Let’s show the "KING" that the word "KING" begins with a "K", not a "C"!!! I hope ARK loses every game they play!!!!!