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Kentucky basketball among Dickie V's top teams in the country

Kentucky is listed as Dick Vitale's 'Sweet 16' teams heading into the 2024-25 season.

By Alec Lasley

Nov 15, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Dick Vitale steps onto the court before the game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Kentucky Wildcats at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 15, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Dick Vitale steps onto the court before the game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Kentucky Wildcats at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports / Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
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Mark Pope's goals are clear at Kentucky. It's about national championships. There's no secondary goal or expectation. He understands that better than anyone else since he lived it and won one of the banners hanging inside Rupp Arena. 

But, he also understands that doesn't happen overnight and if you get too caught up in the end goal, the process and progress along the way can get hidden and forgotten. 

For Kentucky it hasn't been able to get out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2019, with two of the last three years resulting in first round exits.

While Pope enters his debut season with Kentucky, there are some people bullish on his team despite the Wildcats having a roster made up of 12 players who have never played together.

One of those is long-time ESPN analyst and college basketball icon Dick Vitale. VItale listed Kentucky as one of his 'Sweet 16' teams heading into the season.

"With no Sweet 16 appearances since 2019, the Wildcats are looking to make a huge jump with new coach Mark Pope," Vitale wrote. "With nine transfers and three freshmen, the Wildcats need time to mesh and gain confidence but should be primed come March."

Like Vitale said, Kentucky will likely struggle early in the season due to the new faces all over the floor. In addition, a difficult non-conference schedule will likely yield some early-season loses, but also pay dividends later in the season.

In order to reach the potential of a Sweet Sixteen or even just making the NCAA Tournament, getting better every day is a critical piece to the summer for Pope.

"The most important thing is we walk off the court a little better than we walked on. And we will accept nothing less," Pope said last month. "We will be tyrannic about that and that's how you achieve that long term goal of banner number nine, is getting better every day and that's why our guys are coming here."

Time will tell what Kentucky's end result is this season. There's no question they have the talent to be a second-weekend team. There are also a lot of questions at the current moment, including who will even start on this team come November.

There's a lot of time between now and the season-opener and Pope is making sure this team -- both coaches and players -- are doing everything they can do get better.

"Setting a goal every day," Pope said. "Having a metric you can record and analyzing growth every single day."

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