Everyone has an opinion on the upcoming Kentucky basketball season, which will feature a new head coach and an entirely new roster. One opinion which carries some weight, is that of former Kentucky star Jack “Goose” Givens.
Givens played for the Wildcats from 1974 to 1978 under coach Joe B. Hall. He averaged 16.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in his four seasons, and won a national championship in his final year in Lexington.
Related: Kentucky’s 2024 SEC schedule released
Recently, Givens spoke with Kentucky Sports Radio, and was asked about the coming season, and he liked what he has seen.
What I saw was a bunch of men as opposed to skinny little high school guys, you know? It was great to see some guys who can come in and understand the game. You won’t have to spend the first two months teaching them fundamentals. You can use that time now — especially this year, it’s important. You can use that time to grow as a team, learn Mark’s system without having to go through the fundamentals with help, pick-and-roll, all that kind of stuff. I was really excited about that.
He also had some thoughts on what the team may look like as the year progresses, and chances at a NCAA Tournament run.
That’s Kentucky basketball and Kentucky fans. Big Blue Nation, they always think we are the team to win it all every year. I don’t know that I would expect that, but I do expect to see a team that continues to get better over the course of the year. It might be a little slow early because they are trying to learn each other, learn their roles and all of that, but I think we should expect to see a team that’s very competitive, a team that’s somewhere from the middle to the top of the SEC.
Givens had plenty more to say worth checking out, but it’s safe to say he’s excited about the 2024-season. Fans should be as well.