Mark Pope's genius transfer portal strategy will lead Kentucky to an elite season

As the bar has gotten higher, so has his roster quality, and a good chunk of this team is from the transfer portal. Not quite as many transfers make up this year's team compared to last year's team, but there are still a handful.

One of the interesting aspects of the transfer portal class Pope brought in is that of the six players he added, four of them came from power four schools. Jaland Lowe, who is the Wildcats' projected starting point guard, came from Pitt.

Mo Dioubate, the projected starting power forward, came from Alabama. Jayden Quaintance, the Wildcats' projected starting center, came from Arizona State. Lastly, Denzel Aberdeen, who has a great shot to start in the backcourt, came from Florida, where he just won a national title.

The other two transfers on this team are Kam Williams from Tulane and Reece Potter from Miami of Ohio.

Knowing that the four transfers who will be in Kentucky's starting five came from power four schools is a good thing for the Wildcats. Some teams add players from smaller schools in the transfer portal, and their transition to the SEC does not go smoothly. This won't be the case for these Wildcats as they have played basketball at a high level.

It also helps in some other ways that people don't think much about, like the fact that they have played in hectic road environments, so this won't be a tough adjustment.

Coach Pope is really smart to use the transfer portal this way, as it will pay off once SEC play rolls around. This basketball team is going to be special this year as the Wildcats should head into the season ranked inside the top ten.

The transfer portal is going to be a big part of college basketball, so it's great that Pope is using it at a high level.