Jamal Mashburn calls out Kentucky after Michigan State loss: 'They look like kittens more than Wildcats'

Following this week’s loss to Michigan State, there are questions about Kentucky moving forward. During Thursday night’s TNT pregame show ahead of Bucknell at St. John’s, UK great Jamal Mashburn expressed his concern.

Mashburn said he’d set his concern level at a “3” for Kentucky after the 17-point loss in the Champions Classic. He pointed out the issues on both offense and defense, not to mention the struggles on the board, that are emerging through the early part of the year.

But when it comes to UK’s investment in the roster – reportedly around $22 million – Mashburn said that amplifies things for Mark Pope and Co. That’s why he called for a “stud or two” to emerge and take control of the locker room.

“I would say 3 at this particular point,” Mashburn said of his level of concern. “And I would say the reason why is because how they are 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. At the end of the day, when you spend $22 million in NIL, there has to be some accountability. Why are you going out there – not to say that all these guys are not good players, but when I look at $22 million, you’ve got to find a stud or two that you can play off of. … I’m not seeing [an alpha] quite yet because the alpha is usually the one that takes control of that 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, that’s going to be difficult to transition from a head coaching standpoint to get the guys to [get] going.”

Bruce Pearl on Kentucky: ‘Less is more sometimes’

Kentucky looked like one of the big winners in the transfer portal this past cycle. The Wildcats brought in the No. 2-ranked transfer class, according to the On3 Team Transfer Portal Index, with six additions. The headliner was Jayden Quaintance, who came in at No. 4 in the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings after transferring from Arizona State.

However, fellow TNT analyst Bruce Pearl argued UK may have done too much in the portal. While there’s talent on the roster, the former Auburn coach said those players might need to settle into different roles.

“Players win championships,” Pearl said. “Coaches can help win games. We really can. But when we need to get a stop, these guys in the huddle [need to] say, ‘We need to get a stop.’ They’re going to look at each other, that’s what’s going to happen. I think the thing with Kentucky, for me, is too many. They’ve got too many pieces. They have spent starter money on backups. So you’ve got a locker room of guys that all think they’re all supposed to start, they all think they’re supposed to finish, none of them are going to play a role. None of them are going to be unselfish.

“I actually think less is more sometimes with championship teams. You guys with the Fab Five had to play roles. You had some guys that had to settle for less when they were on other teams. I think that’s Kentucky’s problem. And I think it’s bigger than 3. I think it’s maybe 4.”