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Nov 22, 2024; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Collin Chandler (5) looks to the bench after a play during the first half against the Jackson State Tigers at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

A college basketball analyst raved about Kentucky's backcourt depth

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Wyatt Huff | Last updated Sep 19, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The college basketball season is creeping closer and closer as we are less a month away from Big Blue Madness and Kentucky's first exhibition. It's also time for national college basketball analysts to get serious about where teams stack up against each other.

The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster were both in Lexington this week to get eyes on a Kentucky basketball practice and came away with a number of takeaways, but one of things they are most excited about is what the Wildcats have to offer in the backcourt, not just the amount of bodies, but how talented each one is.

"Their perimeter is incredible, I mean incredible," Gooodman said on the Field of 68 Podcast. "Their seventh perimeter guy would probably play 30 minutes a game on 330 teams. Seriously, that's not an exaggeration. Mark Pope, one of his biggest strengths is dealing with people, and I think one of his biggest challenges this year is gonna be how he manages (the depth)."

Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Mark Pope would love to play every player on the team in every game, but he is going to have to cut the rotation down. With how many capable guys Pope has on the perimeter, it's going to be interesting to see who steps up and surprises people out of the bunch. It's clear how much Goodman is intrigued by the depth of this Kentucky team, as earlier this summer he said the Wildcats have "an embarrassment of riches" in the backcourt, calling it one of the deepest backcourts in college basketball.

"(Kentucky) put together a roster that's deeper than anybody else in America, especially on the perimeter. Like, it is an embarrassment of riches on the perimeter for this Kentucky team," Goodman said earlier this summer. "(The Field of 68) saw Trent Noah go off last year in the first half against Tennessee. I don't know how Trent Noah gets on the court much this year. I hope he does. He's kind of a local kid that the crowd went crazy for. We loved those moments when he made those threes in the first half. But Jaland Lowe, Otega Oweh comes back, Denzel Aberdeen transfers in from a national title at Florida. Then you bring back Collin Chandler, who's got a ton of talent. Everybody wanted him coming out of high school before he went on his mission. Jasper Johnson, one of the most regarded freshmen wings in the country, and then Trent Noah. Kam Williams, I'm sorry, one of the best pure shooters in the portal coming from Tulane. That's seven dudes, Rob, on the perimeter that all want playing time."

Mark Pope is going to have a good problem on his hands figuring out the rotation as the players will be fighting hard in practice for time throughout the season. It will certainly be an interesting development to watch. Check out The Field of 68's takeaways from watching Kentucky's practice below.