The Kentucky Wildcats just wrapped up SEC Basketball Media Day down in Birmingham, Alabama, on Tuesday evening.
Head coach Mark Pope was joined by SEC Preseason Player of the Year Otega Oweh and Pitt transfer
Jaland Lowe. The guys talked ball all afternoon and discussed their outlook on the upcoming season.
One of the biggest question marks for Kentucky as the new season arrives is 3-point shooting. The Wildcats finished last season shooting the 3-ball at a 37.5% clip, ranking 24th in the nation. Pretty good for a team full of transfers, but much of that roster departed this offseason.
Pope, who will coach his second full season for the Wildcats, gave his team high praise from behind the arc this upcoming season, saying he is very pleased with the progress they’ve made since the start of summer practices.
“This group might not have come in with the reputation as being as prolific 3-point shooters as some of the guys last year, but the progress they made every single week during the summer was remarkable. We have guys shooting the ball at an elite level,” Pope said on Tuesday.
Kentucky will likely have at least two high-percentage 3-point shooters in Kam Williams and Trent Noah. However, for this offense to be elite, the Cats will need others to step up. Based on Pope’s comments, it sounds like that’s happening at practice. Now it’s just a matter of translating that into actual games, which begin with an exhibition matchup with No. 1 Purdue.
The Wildcats will play their annual Blue-White scrimmage this upcoming Friday, October 17th. The game will be aired on SEC Network+ at 7 pm ET.
