Mark Pope sees a very bright future for Trent Noah heading into year two

A Kentucky native, Trent Noah knows all about what it means to play at Kentucky. Growing up a fan, he got his chance to live out that dream for the first time last season. After showing flashes when his team needed him off the bench, he knows the road ahead for him is nothing but bright, and Mark Pope knows too.

Pope says in year two, players have a strong history of taking massive leaps after one year in his system. That doesn't just go for returning players Brandon Garrison and Collin Chandler, it goes for Noah, too. His quality minutes off the bench last season points to a big leap in production, and Mark Pope knows how bright his future is, and you can tell that by his comments about Noah on Tuesday.

"It's gonna be impossible for me to love Trent Noah anymore than I do right now, even if he gains the 18 pounds. He's got a chance, guys. Doing it here is different than doing it anywhere else and being a Kentucky legend is different than being anything anywhere else. Trent Noah is made different, man. He just is made different. He is a joy. And he's coming back as a vet. One of the things that's really challenging as a player is you come in as a Freshman and everybody is older than you and everybody knows more than you, and you can get tricked into thinking that's your college experience because it's the only one you have. The magical thing about year two, is your like, wow, everything is different. I'm the guy who knows what film session is like, ...who knows what practice is like, ...who knows what individual workouts are like, ...who knows what running through the SEC is like, ...who knows what BBN is like. It's a beautiful thing getting to year two and especially doing it in our system. ...I'm excited to watch Trent Noah. I know how this is gonna turn out. I know how it's gonna turn out in the next couple years and I know how it's gonna turn out thirty years from now and I'm happy for him." Pope on Noah's bright future.

Last season, Noah certainly showed flashes of his future in his performance against Tennessee, and as a Kentucky native, that performance really meant a lot to him growing up near that rivalry, just over an hour and a half away from the Kentucky-Tennessee border in Harlan. Against the Vols, Noah came in off the bench and poured in 11 points on 3-4 shooting from three, adding 2 rebounds and an assist.

Noah had a couple of solid showings off the bench throughout SEC play last season, and he'll look to build on that in year two, and if history is on his side, he's due for a sophomore season jump under Mark Pope.