Happy Day After Christmas, BBN!

Some of you are still celebrating the holiday, some are returning to work, and others are using the day to finally take a breath and relax. Whatever you’re doing today, thanks for stopping in!

The transfer portal has become such an integral aspect of college sports, and with the college basketball season nearing the halfway point, which college basketball program has best utilized the portal this season?

That’s the question Issac Trotter from 247 Sports set out to answer, looking at factors such as winning and outperforming preseason expectations.

Trotter’s rankings have the Kentucky Wildcats as the #2 transfer class. Here’s what he had to say about the Wildcats.

Kentucky does not have a First Team, All-American candidate, but that’s the beauty of Mark Pope’s everybody-eats system. Kentucky should enter SEC play at 11-2 if it takes care of Brown next week with wins over Gonzaga and Duke that should age like fine wine while the ‘Cats navigate an SEC slate that will have more bumps and jolts than white water rafting.

Pope’s deep roster was built with little-to-no positional overlap. Lamont Butler and Otega Oweh are physical drive-first, two-way guards whose skillsets pair perfectly with Jaxson Robinson and Koby Brea, two on-the-move shooters. Bigs like Andrew Carr, Brandon Garrison and Amari Williams are all comfortable with the ball in their hands to execute Kentucky’s handoff-heavy scheme. When that’s not working or transition buckets aren’t flowing, Pope can lean on ‘em as post-up threats to create good looks.

Pope might be Kentucky’s MVP. This hot start wouldn’t be possible without his deft touch with roster construction and X’s and O’s.

While some programs used the portal to fill holes here and there on the roster, Kentucky Head Coach Mark Pope had a much bigger challenge in completely redoing the Wildcats roster.

In doing so, it was more than just bringing in the most talented players in the portal. Instead, it was finding the right pieces that would mesh well together.

For the full rankings, click here.

Tweet of the Day

A big Christmas performance for the former Cat.

Headlines

Do rankings matter for UK Football transfer class? – Herald-Leader

We’ll see how the results translate on the field.

Could Pope be on the path to win Coach of the Year? – Courier Journal

Probably one of the early contenders.

Pope and Amari Williams learning how to function together – KSR

Pope believes the big man still has a lot of room to grow.

Getting to know new UK OLB Kameron Olds – Cats Pause

Several things to like about Kentucky’s new pass rusher.

Lamar passes Vick’s rushing record – ESPN

And he reached that mark a lot quicker.

LeBron says Christmas is the NBA’s day – Bleacher Report

What do you think?

Jimmy Butler reportedly wants to be traded – Yahoo

Where do you think Jimmy should end up?

Pete Carroll interested in Bears job – CBS Sports

That could potentially be a good move for Chicago.