Mark Pope has brought 12 brand-new faces to the Kentucky men’s basketball program. Of the dozen, eight are transfers from another program who have never played under Pope, and three are incoming freshmen. Only one, BYU transfer Jaxson Robinson, has any experience of what it’s like to be taught and led by the new Kentucky head coach.
Robinson played for Pope and the Cougars during the previous two seasons, winning Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year in 2023-24. After contemplating a leap to the NBA, Robinson elected to follow Pope to Lexington. Now just six practices into the summer, Robinson has turned into Pope’s on-court translator for the rest of his Wildcat teammates.
“It’s a gift,” Pope said on Tuesday about Robinson’s ability to disseminate his thoughts to the rest of the group. “I bumble around saying what I’m saying and then Jaxson is like ‘All right guys, this is what he really means, okay?’…