Mark Pope says Kam Williams is ready to make the leap to a starting role

No matter how Mark Pope decides to fill out the rest of his 2026-27 Kentucky men’s basketball roster, Kam Williams will be an X-Factor next season for the Wildcats.

But just how big will his role be? As the roster currently stands, Williams, a rising junior, would be penciled in by most as the team’s starting small forward. Rising junior Trent Noah and redshirt freshman Braydon Hawthorne would likely slide in as his backup options. Kentucky is still on the hunt for more players, including Iowa State transfer forward Milan Momcilovic, who is testing the NBA Draft waters but has been hearing from Kentucky lately.

What happens with Momcilovic (or any other players at that position, should they pop up) will impact Williams’ role next season. But the 6-foot-8 wing is going to soak up plenty of minutes for Kentucky either way. Pope believes that could come in the form of a starting role.

During his second Q&A session on Thursday, Pope was asked by Locked On Kentucky if Williams is “ready to take a step forward and become a starter?” Williams averaged six points and 2.1 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per outing last season.

“Yes,” Pope replied. “Kam was our leading DPA (Defensive Points Allowed) guy last year. Missed 12 games but was still our leading plus/minus guy. His foot is healthy now. And best of all, two days ago he sent me a text, I got it in the morning, he was so excited he sent me a picture of the scale. He’s up to 210 pounds. Kam Williams. Let’s go.”

After thriving as a true freshman at Tulane, Williams got off to a slow start as a sophomore at Kentucky last season, particularly with his outside shooting. But that began to change right before SEC play began. After an 8-10 outside shooting performance against Bellarmine, the game came a bit easier to him. More three-pointers were falling and he was intentional with getting downhill. His defensive impact was never in question.

Then came the non-contact injury — a broken foot — against Texas on Jan. 21. He sat out nearly two months before returning just in time for the SEC Tournament, even knocking down a couple of threes in his first two games back. He hit a couple more shots from deep in Kentucky’s two NCAA Tournament games. There is plenty to like about his game.

Pope hit on a few important items in his answer about Williams. One was his defensive impact. Williams can be a true two-way threat, and Kentucky will need his defense to continue improving going into next season. The second was that Williams’ foot is healthy. He’ll have an entire offseason to get back to where he was trending right before the injury.

The third was Williams adding more weight. Tulane listed him at 190 pounds as a freshman. Kentucky had him at 205 pounds as a sophomore. Pope says he’s now up to 210 pounds. A stronger version of Williams (without sacrificing any agility) should only help him on both ends of the floor. A big offseason for Williams awaits.