Mark Pope is trying to build a new UK basketball culture. And he’s finding the right guys.

The NBA combine — as much as anything — is a place for draft prospects to pitch themselves to the league’s decision-makers just a few short weeks before the selections are made.

Some of the invitees take part in scrimmages at the annual event in Chicago, but just as important — perhaps more important — is the talking that’s done behind the scenes. Those potential draftees meet with reporters from around the league, and it’s also their first opportunity to actually sit down across from NBA front-office figures and answer questions about their backgrounds and their futures, a chance to sell the idea that they’ll be the right fit for a franchise.

That in mind, it was striking to see the smiles on the faces of Dayton’s DaRon Holmes II and Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis when two players who weren’t in attendance were mentioned.

Holmes played the past three seasons alongside Koby Brea, and Sallis spent this past season teaming up with Andrew Carr.

Brea and Carr will be at Kentucky next season, two major additions to Mark Pope’s first roster as his tenure as the Wildcats’ head coach begins.

Both NBA draft hopefuls spoke to the Herald-Leader about their time with the future Wildcats, and what they had to say will be welcome words to those who follow UK’s program.

“If a player can’t see something bigger than himself, he’s not my guy,” Pope told the Herald-Leader not long after taking the Kentucky job.

As Pope tries to lay the foundation for a team-first culture in Lexington, it sure sounds like he’s finding the right players.

“You guys are getting a great guy,” Sallis said of Carr. “He’s a balls-to-the-wall type of leader. He’s going to go all out for his team. And he’s just a guy that the people down there are going to love.”

“He’s very humble. He works very hard,” Holmes said of Brea. “An elite shooter. He’s a leader, too. He’s one of my favorite teammates I’ve ever played with. He’s a very good guy.”

Brea and Carr are expected to be two of the foundational pieces of Pope’s first roster. Both players have four years of previous college experience — this will be their final season of NCAA eligibility — and both are projected as possible starters when Pope coaches his first game from the Kentucky sidelines in November.

Arguably the top returning shooter in college basketball, Brea — a 6-foot-6 guard from Washington Heights, New York — made 100 3-pointers and connected at an amazing 49.8% rate for the Flyers last season. In his final year as BYU’s coach, Pope oversaw an offense that ranked second nationally in 3-point attempts — a whopping 32.0 per game — and he’s expected to bring a similar style to Lexington.

A match made in transfer portal heaven?

“The way they play — I feel like that will be perfect,” Holmes said of his former teammate. “Pope and shooters — that’s his type of game. That’s going to benefit him a lot. He’s going to go in there, and I know he’s going to work hard. …

“He’s very disciplined, and he’s very determined. Koby Brea is very determined, and he really takes the game seriously. I really like him. You guys are going to love him.”

Carr is a 6-10, 220-pound forward — from West Chester, Pennsylvania — but don’t be fooled by his size. He’s a shooter, too. The versatile offensive player made 36 3-pointers at a 37.1% clip this past season. Carr began his college career at Delaware, but in two years at Wake Forest, he’s made 59.8% of his 2-point shots and gone 77.8% on free throws.

“He’s a stretch,” Sallis said. “He can definitely shoot it. He’s really good defensively and definitely just a great leader.”

Carr was billed as an offense-first guy when he committed to the Cats last month, though Sallis talked up his former teammate’s defensive chops.

“He blocks a lot of shots,” he said. “He had a lot of double-doubles this year. … So he’s definitely a really good defender. Underrated, for sure.”

Carr had six double-doubles for the Demon Deacons, with at least eight rebounds in 17 of 35 games. He also averaged 1.5 blocks per game, making him a nice complement to the several defensive-minded transfers that Pope has added to his roster, which is now at 11 players.

Both Brea and Carr should be able to space the floor in Kentucky’s offense, and Brea, in particular, is expected to be a deadly shooter from long range. That talent on the perimeter, Holmes said, makes it easier for everyone else on the court.

“It gets defenders worried,” he said. “Like, he’s an elite shooter — the best shooter in the country — so you have to guard him out there. And that makes the rest of us wide-open for some of that stuff. So if guys didn’t double me, it was easier for me, because I have a one-on-one matchup. But if guys do double me, you’re leaving the best shooter in the country open. Like, are you serious? So you really have to think about that type of stuff.”

As important as what they’ll bring to the games themselves, Brea and Carr fit the narrative that Pope is pitching for what he wants his version of Kentucky basketball to be all about. The new UK coach says he wants his guys to have a “connection” on the court, a team where the parts form a whole that lifts up every individual player as a result.

“He’s just like the perfect type of guy, especially if you’re trying to build a culture,” Sallis said of Carr. “He’s the prime example of a culture type of guy.”

At one point as Holmes was talking, he mentioned that Dayton had played against BYU early in the 2022-23 season — an overtime victory for the Cougars — and said he came away impressed with Pope’s approach.

He expects big things for his former teammate at UK next season, but he also thinks the Wildcats are in good hands for the long haul.

“I think that he’s an underrated coach, and I think that people are going to see that. Give him some time, and he’s going to turn that program around.”

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