Mark Pope expects Brandon Garrison to take on a larger leadership role next season

Kentucky basketball is returning just three players from last season's roster in Brandon Garrison, Trent Noah and Collin Chandler. After bringing in many newcomers such as two freshmen and seven transfers, Mark Pope is asking Garrison to become the leader of the team. After showing flashes of that last season under the wing of veteran big man Amari Williams, Pope thinks he is ready.

Garrison knows how big of mentor Williams was for him last season, as it was just year two for the former McDonald's All-American. Pope really wants him to take that next step in his leadership.

"He needs to be a leader. I'm really proud of him, how he's approached this offseason. He's been really hungry. He's been working really hard. His job now as a returning player is to come teach all the other guys, whether they're more Senior than him or not. He's one of our few returning guys that knows what we do, knows how we do it, knows the expectation, knows the standard. It was really fun in the last month of the season to see him start to take on some leadership role, even with the veteran ladened team that we had last year. You started to hear his voice more. You started to feel his intensity a little bit more. He's changed, like, he's grown."Pope on Garrison's leadership growth.

Pope knows that after being mentored by one of Kentucky's leaders last season, Garrison is ready for that next step in not just on-court leadership, but off the court, too, teaching all of the newcomers about Kentucky and what to expect.

"We had four newcoming players on official visits all together, it was a really fun weekend. We had the guys at my house for a long breakfast and kind of hanging out, and Brandon Garrison came and it was really fun to watch him hold court with those four guys. He went out of his way to come over and sit with those guys and talk to them about what it is and what it's like and what it requires. To think of Brandon Garrison as being a big brother right now is super cool, because he'll be the first to tell you that Amari Williams was a life-changing mentor for him. He's excited about now moving into that position, where he gets to help some other guys come along, and he's gonna be really good." Pope on Garrison's big leadership role.

Last season, Garrison showed flashes of growth on the court with his play, and now he's looking to grow in an important area with his leadership, too, as one of the few veterans with a year at Kentucky already under his belt.