What's a great team without a great leader? Not a great team at all, I'd say. Kentucky fans saw all last season what is was like to watch a Mark Pope squad struggle to find their way without a vocal floor general; even as Otega Oweh dominated the stat, the unit around him often looked lost.
This offseason, likely as a means to quell the BBN's frustration to some extent, Coach Pope has offered multiple looks behind the scenes at his third-year team's summer operations. Just today, he posted a post-practice update of Kentucky's "winners board," and it may give fans an early idea as to who is leading the way ahead of November.
With the picture on X, Pope noted that practice "Got headed in the gym today," with wins this summer having stacked up to 48 a piece for Zoom Diallo, Jerone Morton, and Malachi Moreno. These are the guys, as we approach August, that are making the most winning plays in practice.
Got heated in the gym today! Ended with a 3 way tie on the winners board. Next week is last week of camp. BBN, who will come out on top? pic.twitter.com/0HEEGaPXdL
— Mark Pope (@CoachMarkPope) July 31, 2026
A Win Regardless of the Winner
With the last week of summer camp looming large, it looks like Kentucky's ultimate practice winner will be one of the three above. For Cats fans, seeing such close competition is the best news possible; no matter who it ends up specifically being, players are fighting hard to climb the ranks.
It's a win regardless of the winner, if you will. This isn't coach speak (although it does sound that way). This also isn't Coach Pope simply buttering up the blue and white fanbase by throwing up a picture of a whiteboard from practice and being done with it. "Wins" in practice have been a tool of his all summer to track his team's effort, and because that was such a problem last season, this board existing in the first place should thrill the folks in Lexington.
Even so, it may be fun to take a guess at who ultimately comes out on top.
Predicting Kentucky's Eventual Winner
While Moreno may be the favorite as a returning NBA prospect, and Morton is certainly the dark horse given the expectation that he comes off the bench, Zoom Diallo is going to be my pick as the Wildcats' offseason winner.
After all, as the starting point guard, who better to be your primary leader? Diallo made a name for himself at Washington as an efficient coordinator of the Huskies' offense; he doesn't force his own shot and is great at finding teammates in their spots.
Even at that program's worst, Diallo managed to be a consistent hightlight. It helps that, since arriving at Kentucky, Diallo has said all the right things about the great point guards that came before him, too. He appears to have the mental makings of a true, lead-by-example player.
But even if I end up wrong, I'm just glad that we've got guys across the board battling behind the scenes. The legendary Goose Givens himself said that things look different with this year's squad, and this is just another reason to believe him.
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