Mark Pope outlines Kentucky's summer plans -- which include the entire team living in the lodge

The Kentucky Basketball team starts summer practice on Monday, tipping off eight weeks of on-court skill instruction, weight training, conditioning, and off-court bonding. This year, there will be a special emphasis on the latter, with all 14 players living in the Wildcat Coal Lodge this summer, a change from years past. Typically, many of the upperclassmen have their own apartments in Lexington, a perk of the NIL era; that will still be the case when the season starts up, but for now, Mark Pope wants all of his guys, including the multi-millionaires, under one roof.

“The guys are all living in the lodge full-time during the course of the summer,” Pope said in an interview with UK Sports Network. “That’s a little bit of a new experience for some of these guys. They’re going to get to know each other in all the ways they want to know each other and all the ways they don’t want to know each other, so that’s really important.”

The entire team arrived on campus last weekend, including Ousmane N’Diaye, the 6’11” forward from Senegal who has been playing professionally in Italy. In years past, some of Kentucky’s international players didn’t arrive until August or, in Zvonimir Ivisic’s case, October. N’Diaye will be right alongside his teammates as they get to know the ropes at Kentucky. This week, that has meant conditioning tests and meetings. On Tuesday night, they held their first group activity, a service night with the Joe Craft Foundation. Throughout the summer, they’ll have one group outing per week, as decided by the players.

Annual UK MBB Service Night!

Thanks to the Joe Craft Foundation for connecting our players with these impactful service organizations throughout KY. pic.twitter.com/Xf0ebsl5QZ

— Mark Pope (@CoachMarkPope) June 9, 2026

“Our first meeting is always a service meeting, so that’s the first thing we do when we get together as a full team in any concentrated fashion,” Pope said. “Then the team plans out something to do each week. That’s not just a feel-good or a promo thing or a character-building thing. It’s also key to us winning, and it’s really important on all of those fronts.”

Over the eight weeks, the team will be allowed eight hours per week for weight-training, conditioning, and skill instruction, the latter of which cannot exceed four hours per week. The players, many of whom will also be taking summer classes, are required to have two days off per week, but can organize their own pick-up games and work out at the facility as they please. Over on KSBoard, we already have reports of Malachi Moreno, Alex Wilkins, and Mason Williams getting up shots at their leisure at the Joe Craft Center.

Pope was not asked about a foreign trip, which teams are now allowed to take every summer. Last month, he told Darrell Bird that it’s unlikely Kentucky will take one this year after its plans to go to Israel fell through. Earlier this week, Matt Jones said that one of Kentucky’s other options is probably out as well, with another team taking its place. That means that Kentucky won’t get the additional practice time and competition that comes with a foreign trip, but there’s still plenty to do at home.

Last summer, the team scrimmaged La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team in TBT. I’d expect something similar this year, along with the annual team retreat, which typically takes place right before the start of the fall semester. Workouts will pick back up when classes start, and before you know it, official practices will be underway. Pope can’t wait.

“You break the season down into segments. The postseason, kind of portal season, is excitement and chaos the entire time, but it’s also really rewarding. I love the group our staff has put together. I think we have a chance to be great, so we’re just now transitioning into getting on the court together. We’ll spend the next nine weeks working together, and it’s a special time to really develop bonds. I can’t wait to get going. This is a good group.”