Jon Rothstein offers inside scoop from Kentucky basketball practice including starting lineup prediction

CBS Sports Insider Jon Rothstein has been visiting some of the premier basketball programs in the country and checking in on their practices. After each visit, he offers some insights into what he noticed and gives us a starting lineup prediction. What did he have to say about the Kentucky Wildcats?

Rothstein traveled to Kentucky on Tuesday, October 1, after visiting Louisville the same day. He wanted to see for himself what this new-look, new-coached Wildcats team looked like. There is basically zero consistency between last year's Kentucky team and the 2024-2025 team. Besides a couple of walk-ons, the roster is entirely revamped, and the coaching staff is all new.

Head Coach Mark Pope was hired during the offseason to become the new head coach of the Wildcats, and he brought a new coaching staff and a ton of portal transfers. He was also able to add/keep two recruits, Collin Chandler and Trevor Noah. "The surprise here at Kentucky practice has been freshman guard Collin Chandler. Former BYU commit hasn't played in a bit due to a Mormon Mission, but he is really talented. Going to be in the Wildcats' rotation.:

Rothstein also encountered a similar conundrum as I did when I was trying to figure out how the guards, especially, will be used. I still don't feel settled about the starting lineup I predicted. The more I follow along, the more I think Koby Brea makes it as the starting two guard, aka the shooting guard.

Pope will figure out a way to get them all going, and it will be exciting to watch. That is a very veteran-heavy, talented mix of guards. They know how to compete at the highest level, and most importantly, they know how to get buckets. What is Rothstein's prediction of the starting lineup?

This truly could be the starting lineup in game one, but we will see how they all mix in and even which players start each game. It's a good problem to have when you have too much talent and too many starters. Rothstein concludes, "Kentucky looks like an NCAA tournament team in 2025, but the makeup of the perimeter will be fascinating to watch between now and opening night on November 4."