Kentucky Basketball took center stage on Wednesday afternoon in Birmingham, Alabama, at the SEC Basketball Tipoff. We learned a lot of different things from the event, from receiving the news straight from the source that Zoom Diallo is a “lambatarian,” to Milan Momcilovic saying that he wants to break Kentucky’s all-time 3-point record.
But it was Mark Pope sharing that this team is “probably the best shooting team I’ve ever had” that was likely the biggest takeaway.
Pope’s full statement was, “We
are walking into the season with a whole bunch of confidence and optimism about what we can grow into. I think this team on the offensive side of the ball is long and skilled. It can really shoot. It’s probably the best shooting team I’ve ever had.”
Well, it shows some big-time confidence in his team to be able to put the ball in the basket from downtown.
Throughout the years, Pope has coached some elite shooting teams, but there’s a real chance this team could take the cake for the best.
At Kentucky, his teams shot 34% last year, and 38% in year one. At BYU, his teams shot 35% in 2023-24, 34% in 2022-23, 35% in 2021-22, 37% in 2020-21, and 42% in his first year in Provo in 2019-20.
Those numbers show a roller coaster of shooting percentages throughout his career. His first year in Provo saw the Cougars become the best 3-point shooting team in America. Now, he believes this year’s team could be even better than BYU’s 2019-20 team.
Starting with the best shooter in the sport is a great way to build the best shooting team you’ve ever had, and Pope did that with Momcilovic. Aside from him, the team has some questions overall, but the numbers have already gone up for players this offseason. Zoom Diallo at Washington shot 32% from the 3-point range last year, taking a 14% leap from his freshman year. Alex Wilkins shot 33% from downtown in his freshman season before hitting the transfer portal and landing in Lexington. Malachi Moreno took only 3 3PT shots (0-3) last season as a freshman, but I think we can expect that number to go up and add some makes to it as well.
The offense won’t lack scoring, whether it’s from 3-point range or around the rim; Kentucky will figure out how to put the ball in the basket. In that quote, Pope mentioned them being “long and skilled,” which has been very obviously true from what we’ve seen to this point from Big Blue Madness, Pro Day, and other behind-the-scenes clips from the socials.
Will it be the best shooting team he’s ever had? Time will tell. From the outside looking in, some players will have to take steps forward for that to be a reality, but he knows better than we do, so I am expecting this group to be around the low 40s in team percentage with tons of creativity and a ton of shooters on the floor at all times.
