The college basketball season is still five months away, but the preseason rankings are basically settled, and there’s a consensus regarding Kentucky’s place on the list.

Mark Pope’s Wildcats are viewed as a top-10ish team nationally and a legitimate Final Four contender, a group with a realistic shot at competing for a national title if the pieces fall into place.

Those pieces to Pope’s second UK roster started arriving in town late last week, and a closer look at the 2025-26 version of the Cats suggests something brewing beyond this coming season.

Yes, Kentucky should be special once the games start in November.

But it certainly seems that this particular group will have an effect that lasts beyond their final game together as a unit.

As the Cats began showing up on campus last we

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