‘We’re going to surprise a lot of people.’ Mark Pope’s first Kentucky team built to defend.

When it comes to Mark Pope’s first Kentucky basketball team, all the talk has been about the new coach’s cutting-edge offensive system based on reads and spacing and 3-point shooting.

Through the team’s early practices, Pope’s new Wildcats believe there is one area that is being overlooked.

”I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people defensively,” Andrew Carr, the 6-foot-11 transfer from Wake Forest, said during a round of media interviews on Thursday.

That should be music to the ears of Big Blue Nation, which saw John Calipari’s final Kentucky team struggle defensively. Kentucky finished 109th in defensive efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy’s metrics. No. 14 seed Oakland landed a first-round NCAA Tournament knockout of the third-seeded Cats by making 15 of its 31 3-point attempts.

Meanwhile, in Pope’s five seasons as the head coach at BYU, the Cougars ranked 60th (2019-20), 30th (2020-2021), 70th (2021-22), 52nd (2022-23) and 60th (2023-24) in defensive efficiency, according to kenpom.

The roster of a dozen new players Pope has compiled for his first Kentucky team boasts a pair of players who have received Defensive Player of the Year honors. Amari Williams, the 6-10 center from Nottingham, England, won the award three times at Drexel. Lamont Butler, a 6-2 guard, won it twice at San Diego State.

”Obviously, you mention Amari Williams and Lamont and Otega (Oweh) is also a very well-known good defender,” Carr said. “I would say my favorite thing, which has been very cool for us, has just been we’ve been able to really grow in our communication, I think. That’s a big part of defense.”

What about Williams? According to those who have seen the early practices, the center is a definite presence around the rim. He averaged 2.2 blocked shots per game in 2022-23 at Drexel.

“Amari has been awesome defensively,” Carr said. “Even just specifically on me, a couple of plays, getting into the paint, I think I can throw a pump fake, even like jump forward or whatever it is and think I’m free. Next thing you know, it’s his other hand getting up there for a block or something like that. He’s really been special.”

“He’s smart,” Oweh, the transfer from Oklahoma, said Thursday of Williams. “He’s a very smart player who can pass the ball. I’ve seen him make jump hooks. He’s a shot blocker. An overall good teammate.”

That’s not to leave out Brandon Garrison, the 6-11 transfer from Oklahoma State who was a five-star prospect before playing his freshman season with the Cowboys last season.

”(Amari) has done a special job, he and BG,” Carr said. “That center spot holds together the defensive unit.”

Then there’s Pope himself, who as a 6-11 forward at Kentucky for Rick Pitino and then as an NBA player, was known as a smart, intense defender. Pitino relayed that at times Antoine Walker would ask the coach to stop having Pope guard him in practice.

”Defensively, the way he teaches us, it’s going to be fun,” Ansley Almonor, the 6-7 transfer from Fairleigh Dickinson, said Thursday. “I feel like we’ve got a lot of good defenders. It’s something that he emphasizes that I don’t think a lot of people realize.”

Where can the current Cats improve defensively? Transition defense, said the players. Pope’s offensive style lends to a fast-paced, up-and-down style. That can lead to fast breaks at both ends.

”Transition defense will be big for us and that comes with communication,” Carr said. “It’s been really cool to see not only one or two people talking, and things like that, it’s really been the whole team trying to take that next step communication-wise.”

“It’s important,” Almonor said. “We’ve got to get stops. We’ve got to rebound on the defensive end. So it’s something people don’t talk about when it comes to Coach Pope.”

So if Kentucky fans are excited to see Pope’s new offense, the players are excited to show their defensive skills.

Said Oweh, “We can be very good on both ends, actually, which is really exciting.”

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