The Kentucky Wildcats, one of the top teams in the AP poll coming into the 2025-26 season, have gotten off to a slow start to the year at 3-2. While that’s not a terrible record, especially with the season in its infancy, it’s underachieving for a team that was thought to be better. The underwhelming record drew the ire of former Kentucky Wildcat Jamal Mashburn, who gave his thoughts regarding the team’s slow start to the season.
During a recent segment of TNT Sports following Kentucky’s disappointing loss to Michigan State, Jamal Mashburn gave the Wildcats a ‘three’ ranking on the panic meter.
“The reason why is because of how they’re playing. They’re not shooting the ball well from three, they’re not guarding the three, they’re not rebounding, they look like kittens more than wildcats in my opinion,” Mashburn said. “And at the end of the day, when you spend $22 million in NIL, there has to be some accountability.”
“Not to say all these guys are not good players, but when I look at $22 million. . .you got to find a stud or two that you can play off of,” Mashburn continued. “I’m not seeing it yet. Usually the alpha is the one that takes control of the locker room, and I’m hearing the head coach Mark Pope doing a lot of taking control of that particular locker room. When it’s not player-led, it’s going to be difficult to transition to from a head coaching standpoint, to get the guys going.”
Kentucky’s roster costing the program around $22 million in NIL money is a big reason why many believe the Wildcats’ start to the season is incredibly disappointing. This is the second season of Mark Pope at the helm for Kentucky after taking over following the departure of John Calipari to Arkansas.
Last season, Pope led the team to a 24-12 record, 10-8 overall in the SEC, and they reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
