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Kentucky Basketball Pro Day: KSR's Takeaways From The First Look

On3 imageby: KSR10/08/25
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Mark Pope at UK Basketball Pro Day (Photo via Aaron Perkins)

Before the season tips off, Kentucky Basketball gave fans and NBA scouts a sneak peek at what Mark Pope has been building behind closed doors. Tuesday night’s UK Basketball Pro Day provided an opportunity to see the new-look Wildcats go through drills and participate in live-action scrimmaging, all in front of a broader audience on SEC Network+. It was Big Blue Nation’s first extended look at Pope’s new roster, a blend of veterans, transfers, and freshmen that has everyone curious to see how it fits together.

With the lights on and the NBA in the building, the Wildcats didn’t disappoint in their preseason pro auditions. Sure, it wasn’t a real-life game, but it was the kind of night that reminded everyone that basketball season is near. Below you will find takeaways from KSR’s Drew Franklin, Jack Pilgrim, and Zack Geoghegan, who gathered their thoughts and reactions from courtside for a collective recap to end the night. So, here’s what stood out most to the group from Kentucky’s Pro Day.

Jaland Lowe is as advertised

We’ve been hearing all summer long about Jaland Lowe looking the part of a potential All-SEC caliber point guard. Nothing we saw at Pro Day leads us to believe that intel was incorrect. He’s a clear vocal leader on the team and a true competitor. One of my favorite moments from the entire event was watching him rip Jasper Johnson at halfcourt and diving — to the point where he was crawling — for the loose ball that was slowly rolling the other way down the court. Lowe bullied his way to the rim for a tough and-one against Collin Chandler and hit far more three-pointers than he missed. Without Otega Oweh on the floor, he looked like the best player out there. Lowe was getting after it. It was great to see in person.

— Zack Geoghegan

Andrija Jelavić makes impressive debut

It was our first time meeting the Croatian Sensation after missing all eight weeks of summer workouts, Jelavic admitting at Media Day that his first week or two of the fall was a struggle. The game was moving a little too quickly for him and the physicality was a big-time adjustment, but he finally felt a breakthrough going into this past weekend. We got to see that breakthrough in person at Pro Day, the 6-11 forward showing off his shot-making as a versatile swing four while also comfortably putting the ball on the floor and getting to his spots. He showed a lot of good on the defensive end of the floor, too, absolutely looking the part of a rotation piece entering his freshman sophomore season at Kentucky.

Maybe most importantly, he’s a nice counter to Mo Dioubate, who brings more strength as a downhill bull compared to Jelavic’s approach of skill and finesse. It’s always nice having two totally different styles to throw at opposing teams to keep them on their toes. The Wildcat newcomer looked good in his unofficial debut as a Wildcat.

— Jack Pilgrim

Coach Pope brings out the punishments!

It wasn’t perfect for Jelavic, though, as he got to experience the wrath of Coach Pope in front of all 30 NBA teams — brutal, right? Well, Pope’s version of wrath, meaning a small punishment following a mistake in practice. It was one of two we saw over the course of an hour and a half, the 6-11 forward forced to run the stairs and touch the top of Memorial Coliseum, probably the same way some of Kentucky’s all-time greats did way back when.

Shortly after Jelavic’s stair climb, we saw Brandon Garrison foul on a three, leading to a punishment of his own.

He didn’t have to touch the top wall of HMC, but he did have to bear crawl the length of the sideline with a towel touching from one end of the floor to the other. The resulting image was, admittedly, pretty hilarious.

Don’t get on Pope’s bad side. It might result in a minor inconvenience to build character as a hooper.

— Jack Pilgrim

Trent Noah looked like everything we’ve heard, but different

Trent Noah looked like a completely different person at Pro Day. The sophomore forward has clearly slimmed down since last season, his leaner frame showing the payoff of an offseason transformation. Pope wanted Noah to add 18 pounds of muscle before Noah’s second year; instead, he might have lost that much weight.

As for his play, Noah lit up the nets in front of NBA scouts, validating what teammates have been saying all week. Malachi Moreno told me that the biggest highlight from early practices has been “Trent Noah knocking down corner threes,” and Pope shared that Noah has been scoring an absurd 1.76 points per possession in live reps. At Pro Day, he looked every bit like the elite shooter Kentucky will lean on this season. He’s going to command minutes.

— Drew Franklin

Mo Dioubate will be a fan-favorite

It felt like Mo Dioubate needed a few drills to get comfortable. Did the moment of playing in front of 30 pro scouts get to him? Considering he’s played in the Final Four before, that probably wasn’t the case, because he eventually found his groove and looked like the player we saw at Alabama: tough, gritty, physical, and someone who impacts the game in multiple ways. We even saw him start possessions at the top of the key on a handful of occasions in live settings. If there was a rebound to be had, Dioubate was going to sniff it out. He’s not going to be an offensive force, but everything else he brings as a winner will make him tough to keep off the floor.

— Zack Geoghegan

Photos by Aaron Perkins

Braydon Hawthorne is a name to watch for later

Freshman Braydon Hawthorne looks every bit like a future college basketball star, with an emphasis on future. The four-star wing is listed at 6-8, 190 pounds, with a long, wiry frame that brings to mind a young Tayshaun Prince. He’ll need to add strength before seeing meaningful minutes, but the foundation is already in place.

You can see the skill and confidence right away. Hawthorne’s smooth shooting stroke stood out at Pro Day, knocking down several threes from well beyond the college arc. He may not play a major role this season, but don’t forget his name. Once he fills out physically, he’ll be getting buckets in Lexington soon enough.

— Drew Franklin

Malachi Moreno will be pushing for minutes

While Jayden Quaintance continues to make his way back to full health, expect Malachi Moreno to eat up plenty of minutes at the center spot. It feels safe to say that Brandon Garrison will step in as the starting big man early in the season, but Moreno doesn’t appear to be all that far behind. The seven-footer looked excellent in individual defensive drills (as did Garrison, to his credit), which had him defending one-on-one situations in quick succession. Moreno moved his feet well against smaller guards and was strong enough to deter bigger players. He was a constant threat on the glass and even knocked down some threes during shooting drills.

Moreno still has a long way to go to reach his potential, but there won’t be many better backup centers in the country than the Georgetown native.

— Zack Geoghegan

The diving on the floor drill looked painful

Before Kentucky even broke a sweat on fast break or shooting drills, Pope had them diving on the floor for loose balls like it was the Final Four. It was a tone-setter, but hard to watch for the spectators with questionable lumbar health—you know, me.

— Drew Franklin

Things are clicking for Jasper Johnson

He didn’t miss the entire summer like Jelavic, but winning a gold medal in Switzerland with Team USA did set him back — and that’s tough to do for a teenage freshman. Johnson went through some growing pains early, but fall returns have been extremely positive, and he more than looked the part in front of pro scouts on Tuesday. His shot-making was exactly what it’s been hyped up to be and he was very comfortable taking on a lead guard role. He had a few defensive slip-ups, but he handled physicality well and hit NBA-level shots in terms of range and defender depth on the contest. Pope spoke highly of the blue-chip recruit when he signed with Kentucky, and the first-year talent is starting to put it all together ahead of schedule.

— Jack Pilgrim

Otega Oweh was a DNP

Otega Oweh watched Tuesday night’s Pro Day from the sideline instead of suiting up with his teammates. Kentucky’s star guard told KSR on Monday that he’s fully recovered from turf toe and plans to return to practice this week, but he wasn’t ready to participate in the televised workout at Memorial Coliseum. Remember, Oweh went through the NBA draft process in the spring, so he’s already had his offseason NBA tryout.

— Drew Franklin

Up next: Big Blue Madness

The next stop on the Kentucky Basketball calendar is Big Blue Madness, set for Saturday at 6 p.m. inside Rupp Arena. The annual event marks the unofficial start of basketball season in Lexington, where fans will get their first true glimpse of Mark Pope’s Wildcats under the bright lights and theatrics of Madness. Until then, hang around KentuckySportsRadio.com for plenty more on the team and the season ahead.

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2025-10-20