Mark Pope still believes Kentucky can become a dangerous shooting team — even if the numbers haven’t shown it yet.
Coming into the season, this Kentucky roster wasn’t viewed as a natural shooting group, especially compared to last year. But back in September, Pope raised eyebrows when he pointed to eye-catching shooting data from practice, confidently saying those numbers would eventually carry over into games.
“That translates to a game. It always has for us,” Pope said at the time.
So far, that translation hasn’t happened.
In Saturday’s win over Indiana, Kentucky won in spite of its shooting — not because of it. The Wildcats went just 3-for-15 from three-point range, the worst perimeter performance of the Pope era, yet still found a way to control the game. Defense, effort, and physicality flipped the script, especially in the second half, as Kentucky attacked the rim and turned stops into easy offense.
The practice numbers still suggest this team should be better. Kentucky uses the Noah Shooting System, and several players consistently grade out well, hovering in the mid-70 percent range over time. But for whatever reason, those results haven’t surfaced consistently in games.
Still, Pope remains convinced it’s only a matter of time.
“Listen, by the end of the year, I think we’re going to be really dangerous shooting the ball,” Pope said. “I do. I’ve never been on a team where the Noah numbers don’t eventually transport their way into games. I just have never seen that. We have guys that are doing that consistently… that have not exploded onto the scene in games yet, but they will.”
If that leap is going to happen, Kentucky will need more from shooters like Trent Noah and Kam Williams, with Collin Chandler also playing a key role. None have met that standard yet, but Saturday offered a reminder that this team doesn’t have to live and die by the three.
Against Indiana, Kentucky forced 18 turnovers, scored 23 points off those mistakes, and held the Hoosiers to a season-low 4-for-24 from beyond the arc. Just as importantly, the Wildcats protected the ball and dictated the game with toughness.
That’s an identity Pope believes his team can lean on moving forward.
“I think we can win games when we have that type of commitment to our team and that type of grit,” Pope said. “It’s not the way we want to have to win every game, but certainly I think that’s something we should be able to fall back on.”
If the shooting ever catches up to the defensive intensity now starting to show, Kentucky could look very different down the stretch. For now, the offseason talk about toughness and defensive growth is beginning to look very real — even if the jump shots still aren’t falling.
