The Kentucky basketball program began the Mark Pope era with a 24-12 record and a run to the Sweet 16. Despite John Calipari's swift exit to Arkansas, Kentucky hired Pope, and the Wildcats were competitive in 2024-25 with a lot of hope on the horizon. In the portal season, Kentucky hit big by landing Alabama transfer Mouhamed Dioubate, as well as Jaland Lowe (Pittsburgh) and Kam Williams (Tulane).
With that, the Kentucky team is widely viewed as a top 25 team once again in 2025-26, and rightfully so.
For Dioubate, he recently spoke about his new program and he admitted it is much different from then he has experienced before, via Grant Grubbs of On3.
“It’s a different lifestyle for sure. Even though I came from Alabama, we got a lot of love and appreciation from the people, but… Kentucky is just basketball,” Dioubate said. “They live and breathe basketball. So, it’s a different feeling. You feel like the main characters.”
Dioubate isn't the only new Kentucky player to share those thoughts. Jaland Lowe, who transferred to Kentucky from Pitt, also had a similar statement, per Grubbs.
“It’s completely different for me and I never really expected it,” Lowe said. “I always see Kentucky growing up, just great basketball team, great basketball players, the people around. But, when you’re actually here, surrounded by the fans and the people, it’s second to none….That’s another reason why Kentucky wins a lot. We pour our hearts onto that court because these fans pour into us. At the end of the day, it’s an amazing and cool feeling to have these fans with us.”
Kentucky basketball fans are passionate as can be, and even though Calipari's exit was frustrating, and the first year with Pope as the head coach was somewhat promising.
Entering Year 2, Kentucky has a lot of pieces, and another NCAA Tournament run could very well be in store in Lexington.
