Mark Pope sees a 'strong defender' in sophomore Trent Noah

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope has talked numerous times about his vision for Trent Noah in year two. The Kentucky native played quality minutes last season off the bench, stepping up whenever the team needed him to. His bright spot was his performance against Tennessee, knocking down three 3's off the bench to help push the Wildcats to a win over the Volunteers in Rupp Arena.

Now, Noah is looking to build on that performance, looking to improve in multiple areas this offseason in order to take that jump that Pope says is common for guys in year two playing in his system. When talking with media on Monday, Noah laid out the vision the head coach has for him next season, and while Noah is definitely capable of knocking down threes, Pope sees a lot of potential on the defensive end.

"Hopefully coming in this little time we've had off just getting bigger, faster, stronger, that's the main thing. Continuing to bring gravity on the floor, continuing to open up driving lanes, stuff like that. And then, using my shot to put the ball on the deck and get in the lane and create for others. We've kind of been talking about locking in on the defensive end. He thinks I can be a really good steals guy. He talks about the defensive IQ and then the defensive ability is kind of two different things, and he thinks that I have a really good defensive IQ, and if I can just put those two together, then he sees a strong defender in me." Noah on his defensive potential.

Noah certainly trusts in Pope and the vision he has for him next season. Pope's system certainly works with developing, even defensively. A perfect example of that is Koby Brea, who started the year struggling defensively. before improving rapidly late in the season.

If Noah combines his shooting ability with much-improved defense, that could be the special player Mark Pope has talked about regarding Noah's future.