WATCH: Mark Pope shares footage from Kentucky's first fall practice

mark-pope-shares-footage-from-kentucky-first-fall-practice — Kentucky freshman forward Braydon Hawthorne grabs some water during Kentucky's practice - Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

Today marks the start of fall practice for Division I basketball teams, meaning that players can now participate in up to 20 hours per week of “countable athletically related activities” (CARAs) with the staff, an increase from the eight hours per week they were limited to during the summer. Mark Pope is celebrating in the best way possible: by leaking practice footage from the Joe Craft Center.

After Kentucky’s first practice wrapped, Pope shared a 30-second clip on social media. It features some big buckets by Trent Noah; impressive passes by Jaland Lowe and Brandon Garrison; and a filthy dunk by Malachi Moreno. It’s good to see Lowe on the court after he missed some recent practices due to a minor injury. Otega Oweh, who is recovering from turf toe and is expected to miss a few more weeks, is still on the sideline.

“Practice No. 1 is in the books,” Pope tweeted. “Hard work and so much fun.”

Practice #1 in the books. Hard work & so much fun. Couple clips of BG and MM making plays and Mountain Mamba making shots. Can’t wait ‘til 2pm for #2 #BBN pic.twitter.com/NYTlRetEE7
— Mark Pope (@CoachMarkPope) September 22, 2025

Kentucky also released a short clip of Pope running into the practice gym, sharing his excitement for the first day. “I love the first day,” he says as he jogs down the hallway.

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It's on. pic.twitter.com/JkdoQd22G3
— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) September 22, 2025

The Cats will be back on the practice court this afternoon at 2 p.m. ET. Hopefully, Pope shares some footage from that one too, but if not, I encourage you to check out J. Kyle Mann’s practice report from over the weekend and Jack Pilgrim’s insider notes on KSBoard from Friday. The official practice period begins Monday, October 14, just a few days after Big Blue Madness.

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