We are officially in the Mark Pope era as John Calipari has left for Arkansas, and there are going to be a lot of changes. Big Blue Nation has gotten used to five-star recruits turning into one-and-done players making the move to the NBA. More than likely, that will no longer be the case at Kentucky. 

Coach Pope, as he said in his introductory press conference, is going to bring in five-star players but also have a healthy amount of guys who come in and stick around for multiple seasons. 

In the new world of college basketball, teams are getting older, and in the NCAA Tournament, you have to have an experienced roster to make a deep run. 

Coach Pope is going to have that on his first Kentucky roster, as it is looking like just about every player aside from Collin Chandler and Travis Perry will have played at least two years of college hoops. The only exception so far is Brandon Garrison, who was a true freshman for Oklahoma State last season. 

FanDuel Sportsbook just put out the odds for teams to win the National Championship, and the Wildcat’s odds are currently at +4000, which is tied with Tennessee and right behind Coach Calipari’s Razorbacks (+3500). 

While a National Championship in year one under Coach Pope is unlikely, he will have a veteran team, which is the type of team you see make a run. 

While it likely won’t be this season, Big Blue Nation feels confident Coach Pope will win at least one during his time in Lexington.