Mark Pope doesn't have to tell Kam Williams to do something twice

Kam Williams is doing exactly what Mark Pope is asking him.

Five weeks into Kentucky men’s basketball’s summer practice, Williams has stuck out as someone who understands Pope’s “non-negotiables” — areas or principles of the game that have to be taken seriously and done correctly at a perfect rate. Other Wildcats are excelling at this, but no one has done a better job of accomplishing it in the offseason than Williams.

“I’ll start by giving a massive shoutout to our guys for kind of jumping on some of the things that we said are non-negotiables — it’s going to happen every single time,” Pope told reporters Monday. “So we have some guys, led by Kam, has been the best guy. So the last three practices, including the TBT scrimmage, he was 100 percent on wedges and 100 percent on legal contests.”

Williams’ name is one being mentioned as a possible 2026 NBA Draft pick. We’re beginning to learn why.

After finishing his rookie season at Tulane as an AAC All-Freshman performer, Williams made the jump to Kentucky for a new challenge. He’s passing the tests so far in practice, excelling at the little things like boxing out (wedging) and contesting opposing shots, as Pope mentioned.

But let’s not forget Williams also shot 41.2 percent from three at Tulane last season while averaging a combined 2.5 steals/blocks per game. At this rate, he’s going to earn his way into real playing time.

“I’m really proud of Kam,” Pope continued. “And that’s a big deal, especially to be a new guy in the program and come here. It’s unbelievable when you get to coach a guy that you tell him, we need to do this every single time he comes on the floor and he does it every single time. That is actually a chance for us to be differentiated from every other team in college basketball. And he’s embraced that.”

On a deep and loaded Kentucky roster, Williams is finding ways to stand out.

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