The fact of the matter is, a lot of people made fun of the 22 million dollar roster when Kentucky was 5-4. They took every shot possible at Pope and at the program. Some in BBN began to even wonder if
Pope should be in charge of the program. As the season has worn on, the Cats have begun to find a little bit of a groove, winning 5 straight.
Across campus in HMC, Kenny Brooks and company had the opposite happen; they opened up on a tear. The Lady Cats were rolling, sitting at 14-1 and well on their way inside the top 10 nationally after beating LSU in Baton Rouge.
Then, Teonni Key’s injury happened against Missouri, and things have gone downhill.
Missouri has been a turning point for Kentucky
Since the Missouri win on January 4th, Kentucky women’s basketball has gone only 2-4.
Meanwhile, the men lost Jayden Quaintance after the Missouri game, and they have rattled off 5 straight. The difference in the roster makeup is the key reason why.
In the last 3 games, here is the minute distribution for Kentucky’s men and women.
Kentucky men
Otega Oweh: 32.0
Denzel Aberdeen: 30.0
Collin Chandler: 30.0
Malachi Moreno: 24.3
Mouhamed Dioubate: 21.0
Andrija Jelavic: 17.3
Kam Williams: 15.5
Brandon Garrison: 15.0
Jasper Johnson: 14.7
Trent Noah: 5.3
I know Pope got a lot of slack for playing 10 guys, but in the end, it has really resulted in a team that balances each other out.
Kentucky women
Amelia Hassett: 38.7
Tonie Morgan: 38.3
Jordan Obi: 36.7
Asia Boone: 35.0
Clara Strack: 34.0
Lexi Blue: 11.0
Kaelyn Carroll: 5.3
Josie Gilvin: 1.5
Notice anything substantial there? 5 players all over 34 minutes a game, 2 barely getting off the floor, and a bench that barely sees the floor.
Depth is the separator
Mark Pope has found a way to get his guys a break, so they can all be fresh. Yes, his substitution patterns can be wonky, but at least at the end of the game, his team is fresh.
Kenny Brooks has the opposite problem, and it has been that way for a while. Even going back to his days at Va Tech, Brooks has shown a willingness to get 5 players he really likes and stick with them most of the way. He even admitted after the loss to Georgia that his team “ran out of gas.”
And it is not like these girls aren’t talented. Josie Gilvin played at Western and averaged over 12 points a game while shooting above 40% from deep. Kaelyn Carroll is a McDonald’s All-American. Lexi Blue is a former 4-star recruit.
Losing Clara Silva hurt, because she could have really stepped into the absence left by Key. However, she is now at TCU, averaging 10 points a game.
In the end, the bench that Pope has developed has helped save the season, and the lack of a bench is crushing Brooks.
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Drew Holbrook has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time, he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion
