Mark Pope believes length will have to be a 'major factor' for Kentucky

We've heard all about the shooting ability of this Kentucky team. It's a clear focal point of success for the Wildcats heading into next season, with shooters nearly everywhere you look on the court. But, one thing that hasn't been talked about enough is how much length is on the roster. You've got physical bigs and a physical guard in Zoom Diallo, but there is so much length all over the floor.

Malachi Moreno cemented himself as a great shot-blocker last season, but now he will have a lot of length around him this season. Along with versatile big man Ousmane N'Diaye, guys like Braydon Hawthorne, Kam Williams, and Milan Momcilovic all have long wingspans. Heading into the season, Mark Pope knows how much Kentucky can use their length to bother opponents and he's making that a clear emphasis that will stick throughout the entire season.

"I think our length is going to have to be a big factor. You guys are hearing me say this all year long. We say this to the team every day. Length is our strength. So the question is, can we use it? Can we make it something that we see having impact on every single possession that's allowed us to do that?"

One of the best ways to use your length as a team is being disruptive on defense and Mark Pope believes his team can be great in that area, but it's about staying connected and switch, which is where length can come in to play.

"One of the words that we're saying every day is connected. How connected can we be defensively, and we've made huge progress there. We have a chance to be an elite level team defensive team," Pope said. "You'll see a lot of possessions where it looks like there's open guys everywhere, but it's just hard to see them because our length is imposing, and then our rotations have got to be really sound. We're not running away from rotations this year. We're going to embrace rotations. Just making sure we're making the next one. And so that's all going to be tied up in a neat little bow. And I think we have a chance to be a really, really, really good defensive team."

Great defense starts with staying connected, and if they can do that well, Kentucky's length can be a factor like how Pope wants it to.

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