It is early into the season, but some Kentucky fans are already pressing the panic button on this 2025-26 basketball team.
During a TV broadcast this week, former Kentucky legend Jamal Mashburn was asked on a scale from one to five where he would put his panic level about this team.
Here is what Mashburn had to say in response: “I would say three at this particular point. The reason why is how they’re playing. They’re not shooting the ball well from three, they’re not guarding the three, and 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, and why are you going out there, and not to say all these guys are not good players. When I look at 22 million, you gotta find a stud you can play off of. Usually, the alpha is the one who takes control of the locker room. I’m hearing Coach Pope is taking control of the locker room. When it’s not player-led, that’s going to be difficult from a head coaching standpoint to get the guys to come on.”
Mashburn is correct about those aspects of the game where the Wildcats have been struggling. Kentucky can’t seem to get things going from three, and this is a team that needs elite three-point shooting to succeed…