{"id":196712,"date":"2025-10-08T03:10:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/196712\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T03:10:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:10:13","slug":"kentucky-basketball-pro-day-ksrs-takeaways-from-the-first-look","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/196712\/","title":{"rendered":"Kentucky Basketball Pro Day: KSR’s Takeaways From The First Look"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before the season tips off, Kentucky Basketball<\/a> gave fans and NBA scouts a sneak peek at what Mark Pope has been building behind closed doors. Tuesday night\u2019s UK Basketball Pro Day<\/a> provided an opportunity to see the new-look Wildcats go through drills and participate in live-action scrimmaging, all in front of a broader audience on SEC Network+. It was Big Blue Nation\u2019s first extended look at Pope\u2019s new roster, a blend of veterans, transfers, and freshmen that has everyone curious to see how it fits together.<\/p>\n

With the lights on and the NBA in the building, the Wildcats didn\u2019t disappoint in their preseason pro auditions. Sure, it wasn\u2019t a real-life game, but it was the kind of night that reminded everyone that basketball season is near. Below you will find takeaways from KSR\u2019s Drew Franklin, Jack Pilgrim, and Zack Geoghegan, who gathered their thoughts and reactions from courtside for a collective recap to end the night. So, here\u2019s what stood out most to the group from Kentucky\u2019s Pro Day.<\/p>\n

Jaland Lowe is as advertised<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been hearing all summer long about Jaland Lowe<\/a> looking the part of a potential All-SEC caliber point guard. Nothing we saw at Pro Day leads us to believe that intel was incorrect. He\u2019s a clear vocal leader on the team and a true competitor. One of my favorite moments from the entire event was watching him rip Jasper Johnson at halfcourt and diving \u2014 to the point where he was crawling \u2014 for the loose ball that was slowly rolling the other way down the court. Lowe bullied his way to the rim for a tough and-one against Collin Chandler and hit far more three-pointers than he missed. Without Otega Oweh on the floor, he looked like the best player out there. Lowe was getting after it. It was great to see in person. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Zack Geoghegan<\/p>\n

Andrija Jelavi\u0107 makes impressive debut<\/p>\n

It was our first time meeting the Croatian Sensation after missing all eight weeks of summer workouts, Jelavic admitting at Media Day that his first week or two of the fall was a struggle. The game was moving a little too quickly for him and the physicality was a big-time adjustment, but he finally felt a breakthrough going into this past weekend. We got to see that breakthrough in person at Pro Day, the 6-11 forward showing off his shot-making as a versatile swing four while also comfortably putting the ball on the floor and getting to his spots. He showed a lot of good on the defensive end of the floor, too, absolutely looking the part of a rotation piece entering his freshman sophomore season at Kentucky.<\/p>\n

Maybe most importantly, he\u2019s a nice counter to Mo Dioubate, who brings more strength as a downhill bull compared to Jelavic\u2019s approach of skill and finesse. It\u2019s always nice having two totally different styles to throw at opposing teams to keep them on their toes. The Wildcat newcomer looked good in his unofficial debut as a Wildcat.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jack Pilgrim<\/p>\n

Coach Pope brings out the punishments!<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t perfect for Jelavic, though, as he got to experience the wrath of Coach Pope in front of all 30 NBA teams \u2014 brutal, right? Well, Pope\u2019s version of wrath, meaning a small punishment following a mistake in practice. It was one of two we saw over the course of an hour and a half, the 6-11 forward forced to run the stairs and touch the top of Memorial Coliseum, probably the same way some of Kentucky\u2019s all-time greats did way back when. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Shortly after Jelavic\u2019s stair climb, we saw Brandon Garrison foul on a three, leading to a punishment of his own.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t have to touch the top wall of HMC, but he did have to bear crawl the length of the sideline with a towel touching from one end of the floor to the other. The resulting image was, admittedly, pretty hilarious.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get on Pope\u2019s bad side. It might result in a minor inconvenience to build character as a hooper.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jack Pilgrim<\/p>\n

Trent Noah looked like everything we\u2019ve heard, but different<\/p>\n

Trent Noah<\/a> looked like a completely different person at Pro Day. The sophomore forward has clearly slimmed down since last season, his leaner frame showing the payoff of an offseason transformation. Pope wanted Noah to add 18 pounds of muscle before Noah\u2019s second year; instead, he might have lost that much weight. <\/p>\n

As for his play, Noah lit up the nets in front of NBA scouts, validating what teammates have been saying all week. Malachi Moreno told me that the biggest highlight from early practices has been \u201cTrent Noah knocking down corner threes,\u201d and Pope shared that Noah has been scoring an absurd 1.76 points per possession in live reps. At Pro Day, he looked every bit like the elite shooter Kentucky will lean on this season. He\u2019s going to command minutes.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Drew Franklin<\/p>\n

Mo Dioubate will be a fan-favorite<\/p>\n

It felt like Mo Dioubate needed a few drills to get comfortable. Did the moment of playing in front of 30 pro scouts get to him? Considering he\u2019s played in the Final Four before, that probably wasn\u2019t the case, because he eventually found his groove and looked like the player we saw at Alabama: tough, gritty, physical, and someone who impacts the game in multiple ways. We even saw him start possessions at the top of the key on a handful of occasions in live settings. If there was a rebound to be had, Dioubate was going to sniff it out. He\u2019s not going to be an offensive force, but everything else he brings as a winner will make him tough to keep off the floor. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Zack Geoghegan<\/p>\n

Photos by Aaron Perkins<\/p>\n

Braydon Hawthorne is a name to watch for later<\/p>\n

Freshman Braydon Hawthorne<\/a> looks every bit like a future college basketball star, with an emphasis on future. The four-star wing is listed at 6-8, 190 pounds, with a long, wiry frame that brings to mind a young Tayshaun Prince. He\u2019ll need to add strength before seeing meaningful minutes, but the foundation is already in place.<\/p>\n

You can see the skill and confidence right away. Hawthorne\u2019s smooth shooting stroke stood out at Pro Day, knocking down several threes from well beyond the college arc. He may not play a major role this season, but don\u2019t forget his name. Once he fills out physically, he\u2019ll be getting buckets in Lexington soon enough.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Drew Franklin<\/p>\n

Malachi Moreno will be pushing for minutes<\/p>\n

While Jayden Quaintance continues to make his way back to full health, expect Malachi Moreno<\/a> to eat up plenty of minutes at the center spot. It feels safe to say that Brandon Garrison will step in as the starting big man early in the season, but Moreno doesn\u2019t appear to be all that far behind. The seven-footer looked excellent in individual defensive drills (as did Garrison, to his credit), which had him defending one-on-one situations in quick succession. Moreno moved his feet well against smaller guards and was strong enough to deter bigger players. He was a constant threat on the glass and even knocked down some threes during shooting drills. <\/p>\n

Moreno still has a long way to go to reach his potential, but there won\u2019t be many better backup centers in the country than the Georgetown native. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Zack Geoghegan<\/p>\n

The diving on the floor drill looked painful<\/p>\n

Before Kentucky even broke a sweat on fast break or shooting drills, Pope had them diving on the floor for loose balls like it was the Final Four. It was a tone-setter, but hard to watch for the spectators with questionable lumbar health\u2014you know, me.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Drew Franklin<\/p>\n

Things are clicking for Jasper Johnson<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t miss the entire summer like Jelavic, but winning a gold medal in Switzerland with Team USA did set him back \u2014 and that\u2019s tough to do for a teenage freshman. Johnson went through some growing pains early, but fall returns have been extremely positive, and he more than looked the part in front of pro scouts on Tuesday. His shot-making was exactly what it\u2019s been hyped up to be and he was very comfortable taking on a lead guard role. He had a few defensive slip-ups, but he handled physicality well and hit NBA-level shots in terms of range and defender depth on the contest. Pope spoke highly of the blue-chip recruit when he signed with Kentucky, and the first-year talent is starting to put it all together ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jack Pilgrim<\/p>\n

Otega Oweh was a DNP<\/p>\n

Otega Oweh watched Tuesday night\u2019s Pro Day from the sideline instead of suiting up with his teammates. Kentucky\u2019s star guard told KSR on Monday that he\u2019s fully recovered from turf toe and plans to return to practice this week, but he wasn\u2019t ready to participate in the televised workout at Memorial Coliseum. Remember, Oweh went through the NBA draft process in the spring, so he\u2019s already had his offseason NBA tryout.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Drew Franklin<\/p>\n

Up next: Big Blue Madness<\/p>\n

The next stop on the Kentucky Basketball calendar is Big Blue Madness, set for Saturday at 6 p.m. inside Rupp Arena. The annual event marks the unofficial start of basketball season in Lexington, where fans will get their first true glimpse of Mark Pope\u2019s Wildcats under the bright lights and theatrics of Madness. Until then, hang around KentuckySportsRadio.com for plenty more on the team and the season ahead.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Subscribe to the KSR YouTube Channel for press conferences, interviews, original shows, fan features, and exclusive content.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before the season tips off, Kentucky Basketball gave fans and NBA scouts a sneak peek at what Mark…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-196712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}