Kentucky fans have grown accustomed to dissecting every move Mark Pope makes, and after Tuesday night’s 86-78 home loss to Georgia, his substitution patterns were back in the spotlight. The question on Big Blue Nation’s mind: Are Pope’s frequent rotations hurting the Wildcats’ chances?
After the loss, Pope admitted he worries about playing his stars too many minutes. Otega Oweh logged 34 minutes against Georgia (37 against Florida previously), while Denzel Aberdeen played 32 (34 at Florida). “We’ve got to find a way to get our guys’ minutes down,” Pope said.
“Probably can’t have Otega at 38 and DA at 36. Just because our performance suffers as those guys get fatigued.”
How deep should Kentucky’s rotation really be? History offers perspective. Under Rick Pitino, the 1996 Wildcats won the NCAA title with a nine-man rotation, where no player averaged more than 27 minutes. John Calipari’s 2012 championship team leaned on six players who averaged between 26.1 and 32.6 minutes per game. The key lies in what a coach believes can work—and Pope has consistently leaned on a deep bench.
At BYU, over five seasons, Pope used rotations of eight to 10 players, and in his final two seasons, not a single player averaged 30 minutes per game. In his first year at Kentucky, even with injuries affecting depth, Pope used nine- or 10-man rotations regularly. This season, despite missing three projected starters, nine Wildcats are averaging between 11 minutes (Trent Noah) and 30 (Oweh) per game.
Some critics argue Pope’s frequent substitutions hurt momentum. Against Georgia, after leading 27-19 with 7:34 left in the first half, Pope made eight substitutions before halftime. Yet, when the Bulldogs took the lead, four starters were still on the court, making it impossible to know if fewer substitutions would have changed the outcome.
In general, a deeper rotation makes sense for Kentucky, a program with talent to spare. The bigger question is whether the bench this season has the firepower to justify it. Since sophomore Kam Williams broke his foot eight games ago, Kentucky’s bench has featured Mo Dioubate, Brandon Garrison, Trent Noah, and freshman Jasper Johnson.
Evaluating by plus/minus metrics, Dioubate has been the most effective substitute in recent games. Noah has had mixed results, and Garrison has mostly struggled. Johnson has posted consecutive minus-16 ratings at Florida and Georgia, yet Pope still keeps him on the floor, hoping his offensive potential could pay off late in the season.
