Mark Pope's genius transfer portal strategy will lead Kentucky to an elite season

Mark Pope has perfected the transfer portal this offseason.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope yells to his team as they face Alabama during the first half of a Southeastern Conference tournament quarterfinal game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Friday, March 14, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the new world of college basketball, the transfer portal is very important, and Kentucky's head coach Mark Pope has done an excellent job of utilizing it during his short time in Lexington.

His first season in Lexington, Coach Pope only had a few weeks to put together his roster and, almost only using the portal, he found a team that made a Sweet 16 run. This was the first time Kentucky has gotten out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since the pandemic, and now the bar has gotten higher for Pope.

Jan 25, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope paces the sideline against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

As the bar has gotten higher, so has his roster quality, and a good chunk of this team is from the transfer portal. Not quite as many transfers make up this year's team compared to last year's team, but there are still a handful.

One of the interesting aspects of the transfer portal class Pope brought in is that of the six players he added, four of them came from power four schools. Jaland Lowe, who is the Wildcats' projected starting point guard, came from Pitt.

Mar 11, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Jaland Lowe (15) drives to the basket against Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Tae Davis (7) during the first half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Mo Dioubate, the projected starting power forward, came from Alabama. Jayden Quaintance, the Wildcats' projected starting center, came from Arizona State. Lastly, Denzel Aberdeen, who has a great shot to start in the backcourt, came from Florida, where he just won a national title.

The other two transfers on this team are Kam Williams from Tulane and Reece Potter from Miami of Ohio.

Knowing that the four transfers who will be in Kentucky's starting five came from power four schools is a good thing for the Wildcats. Some teams add players from smaller schools in the transfer portal, and their transition to the SEC does not go smoothly. This won't be the case for these Wildcats as they have played basketball at a high level.

It also helps in some other ways that people don't think much about, like the fact that they have played in hectic road environments, so this won't be a tough adjustment.

Coach Pope is really smart to use the transfer portal this way, as it will pay off once SEC play rolls around. This basketball team is going to be special this year as the Wildcats should head into the season ranked inside the top ten.

The transfer portal is going to be a big part of college basketball, so it's great that Pope is using it at a high level.