When Mark Pope came to Kentucky last spring, he had no NCAA Tournament wins or NBA Draft picks in his nine seasons as a college head coach.
What a difference a year makes.
Not only did Pope win two NCAA Tournament games over Troy and Illinois to lead the Wildcats to its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019, he scored his first NBA Draft picks as guard Koby Brea (Golden State Warriors traded to Phoenix Suns) and Amari Williams (Orlando Magic traded to Boston Celtics) were selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn Thursday night.
In doing so, Pope preserved a pair of NBA Draft streaks for Kentucky: at least one player selected in 18 straight drafts dating back to 2008 and multiple picks in 16 straight drafts going back to 2010.
Kentucky's two NBA Draft picks were double what first-year Arkansas head coach John Calipari and first-year Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey produced this year combined.
And these weren't your typical one-and-dones that UK fans had grown accustomed to over the past 15 years. Both were fifth-year seniors, who when they first came to Kentucky, didn't have many draft prospects to speak of.
After spending his first four collegiate seasons at Dayton, Brea was ranked as the No. 87 overall transfer and No. 17 shooting guard in the portal last offseason by 247Sports. Williams, who spent four years at Drexel, was ranked No. 84 overall and the No. 17 center.
Brea averaged 11.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 36 games with 16 starts while shooting 47% from the floor, 43.5% from 3-point range and 91.4% from the free throw line in his lone season with the Wildcats.
He scored in double figures in 22 games with seven games of 20+ points, including 23 points on 7 of 9 3-pointers in a 106-100 win over No. 6 and eventual national champion Florida in the Wildcats' SEC opener at Rupp Arena on Jan. 4 and 23 points on 10 of 16 shooting in an 84-75 win over Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Brea made at least one 3-pointer in 35 of 36 games, multiple 3s in 27 games, and three or more 16 times. His 93 triples are tied for seventh on Kentucky's single-season list for made 3s and are the most since Malik Monk made 104 during the 2016-17 season.
Williams, meanwhile, did a little bit of everything for Kentucky, averaging 10.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks while starting all 36 games for the Wildcats this season.
Williams, along with Cliff Hagan (1951-52) and Antoine Walker (1995-96), became just the third player in school history to record 300+ rebounds and 100+ assists in the same season. His 115 assists this season are the most ever by any Kentucky player 6-foot-9 or taller.
He also recorded just the fourth triple-double in school history with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 98-84 loss at No. 25 Ole Miss on Feb. 4, joining Chris Mills (1988), De'Aaron Fox vs. Arizona State (2016), and Isaiah Briscoe (2016).
The pair of unlikely draft picks caps off an incredible and equally unlikely first season for Pope in Lexington.
In Pope's first season, Kentucky went 24-12 overall, 10-8 in the SEC and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament despite losing second-leading scorer Jaxson Robinson and backup point guard Kerr Kriisa to season-ending injuries while also having several other injuries impact the large majority of its season and playing just seven games all season at full strength. Starting point guard Lamont Butler missed nine games with a shoulder injury and starting forward Andrew Carr played much of the season at less than 100% due to a lingering back injury.
In the process, the Wildcats tied an NCAA record with eight wins over teams ranked in the top 15 of the Associated Press Top 25, including No. 6 Duke, No. 7 Gonzaga, No. 6 Florida, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 11 Texas A&M, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 5 Tennessee and No. 15 Missouri.
UK set a new single-season record for made 3-pointers with 341 while shooting 37.5% from beyond the arc, and for the first time in school history, had six players average double figures in scoring. Its 3,040 total points scored ranks seventh in school history and the Cats also recorded 607 assists, good enough for ninth on the school's single-season list.
Kentucky ranked seventh nationally in scoring, averaging 84.4 points per game.
The Wildcats (24-12) finished at No. 12 in the final AP Top 25 Poll, UK's 56th top 25 finish in school history.