LEXINGTON, Ky. — We know Mark Pope has done practically everything right since the moment he was officially named the new head coach of the Kentucky men’s basketball program.

Here’s what we don’t know: How good his first team will actually be.

We know the Cats were ranked 23rd by the educated guesses made by the assortment of AP preseason Top 25 voters. We know the media members at the SEC Basketball Media Days in Birmingham, Ala., voted the Cats to finish eighth in the newly expanded 16-team ensemble.

We don’t know what that all means. Were the AP voters banking on the Kentucky name as reason to include the Wildcats in their initial 2024-25 rankings? Does the SEC media, its focus directed at the teams and talent of that one specific conference, have more of an idea of where Pope’s first club will fit into the equation?

In these parts, I get the feeling that people want badly for Pope to succeed. Part of that may have to do with the perception regarding the recent results of his predecessor. Part of that Mark is, well, such a nice guy. I think a bigger part of that has to do with the hope that this fresh approach, taken by someone with Kentucky basketball roots, will produce better results.

Here’s an example of such optimism: A friend of mine, one with a basketball background, was playing golf when a Kentucky basketball fan in his foursome said, “I think we’re going to be really good this year.”

My friend said, “You must know something that I don’t, because I have no idea how they’re going to be this year.”

I feel the same way. This is an entirely new team, after all. The majority of UK’s players did not know each other before arriving on campus. They had not played together, or barely even seen their new teammates play basketball before this past summer. I think it’s safe to say that plenty of them had not even heard of their teammates before now.

So how skilled is this team? How will it fit together? How will it respond to adversity? How will it handle success? How will it respond to Pope’s coaching, given only one player (BYU transfer Jaxson Robinson) has been coached by Pope before?

That doesn’t mean these new faces can’t form a good team. This is the era of NIL and the transfer portal, after all. Player movement is the norm, not the exception. Most teams are basically starting over, if not completely over. Roster rebuilds have become annual undertakings.

Not every team is putting together a new roster with a new coach, however. Other places at least have the advantage of having a returning coach who has already established some sort of culture. A coach who knows the lay of the land at his or her school. That’s not the case at Kentucky. It’s true that Mark Pope has been here before, but a lot has happened since. At UK. And in college basketball. It’s a whole different ballgame.

Here’s one thing we do know: This will be a very experienced Kentucky men’s basketball team. Certainly one of the more experienced Kentucky basketball teams in recent memory, if not program history.

The catch is all that basketball experience was earned at other places, in other environments, playing for other coaches.

Here’s another thing we know: We will start receiving a feel for this team in exactly one week. That’s when the Cats play Kentucky Wesleyan in an exhibition game at Rupp Arena.

That game won’t tell us the whole story, of course. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions or overreact. Not this early and not against this particular competition. The real season won’t have started yet. But the first exhibition will tell us more than UK’s Pro Day. Or last week’s Big Blue Madness. Or this week’s Blue-White Preseason Event at Memorial Coliseum.

I do think I have one thing in common with Big Blue Nation. I may not know how good this Kentucky team will be, but I can’t wait to find out.

Important upcoming dates

— Oct. 18: Blue-White Preseason Event in Memorial Coliseum, 6 p.m. ET (No TV)

— Oct. 23: Exhibition vs. Kentucky Wesleyan, 7 p.m. (SEC+)

— Oct. 29:Exhibition vs. Minnesota State Mankato, 7 p.m. (SEC+)

— Nov. 4: Season opener vs. Wright State, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)

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