Mark Pope has enjoyed watching Trent Noah's progression since arriving last season

Trent Noah is just one of four players returning for the Kentucky Wildcats next season. Noah was one of Kentucky's later additions last offseason after he decommitted from South Carolina, picking to stay in his home state of Kentucky. When he arrived on campus and began practicing, it took him a while to get up to speed, because not only was he entering his freshman season, but also being introduced to a brand-new scheme.

Through his first season in Lexington, the Kentucky native had a handful of games where he provided a nice spark off the bench, but it was his performace against Tennessee that many will remember as his first real breakout game at Kentucky. He had 11 points on an impressive 3-4 shooting from three-point range. Noah was a terrific shooter off the bench for the Wildcats last season. Now, heading into his second year, head coach Mark Pope knows what Noah has in store.

Earlier this summer when speaking with media, Pope raved about Noah and is confident in his ability to take a big leap, saying, "It's a beautiful thing getting to year two and especially doing it in our system." Pope definitely understands the challenges of being a freshman in college basketball, and now with a year under his belt, Pope has already seen Noah turn into a veteran and one of the team's vocal leaders.

"Last year was a disaster, his first few weeks of the summer, maybe a lot of the summer, in terms of understanding what we are trying to do," Pope told CBS Sports' Matt Norlander on the Eye on College Basketball Podcast. "One year later, he walks in, and he’s the most veteran, seasoned voice on the floor. He’s like, "Guys, just everyone relax. Let me explain what Coach is saying right now.' It’s actually so fun to watch from summer to summer and season to season watching these guys grow."

Pope says it's really been fun especially watching the returning players, like Noah, grow since last summer. Many players have been taking leaps this summer. "What's really fun for us is actually, specially when we get second-summer guys, to track their progress from the previous summer and also to see them fit more seamlessly into what we're trying to do and understand it." Pope has said before just how common it is for players in his system to take a jump in their second year playing under him.

Those leaps have seemed to have already begun for Kentucky's four returning players, as Pope has mentioned all of them making good progress through the summer.