Big Blue Nation has been loud all season. When Kentucky struggles, fans don’t hold back. And when Mark Pope finally makes a change that works? They definitely don’t stay quiet about that either.
Over the past few games, one adjustment has fans buzzing nonstop: putting the ball inside and playing through Andrija Jelavic in the mid-post.
For weeks, Kentucky’s offense has felt stuck. Too many empty possessions. Too many contested threes. Too many long scoring droughts that flip momentum in a matter of minutes. But when Pope shifted the focus toward high-percentage looks inside—particularly through Jelavic—everything started to look smoother.
And the numbers back it up.
Jelavic is shooting 67% on his 2-point attempts this season. That’s elite efficiency. Not solid. Not decent. Elite. Meanwhile, Kentucky as a team has hovered around average finishing at the rim, often struggling to convert layups during critical stretches.
So when Pope made a conscious effort to get Jelavic touches closer to the basket instead of parking him beyond the arc, the offense found rhythm. The ball moved with purpose. Spacing improved because defenses had to collapse. Shooters got cleaner looks.
It wasn’t complicated. It wasn’t flashy. It was simply smart basketball.
Fans noticed immediately. Social media lit up with the same message: Why didn’t this happen sooner?
That’s the fascinating part. Pope is known for leaning heavily into analytics. He studies trends. He trusts percentages. Yet for much of the season, Jelavic was used more like a stretch-four, shooting 29% from three, rather than a skilled interior scorer thriving in the mid-post.
When Pope leaned into what Jelavic does best instead of what the system ideally wants, Kentucky’s offense looked far more balanced.
This adjustment doesn’t mean abandoning floor spacing or modern offensive principles. It means blending them with personnel strengths. Jelavic isn’t built like a traditional bruiser, but he’s crafty, efficient, and confident inside. That matters—especially for a team that has struggled to score consistently in half-court sets.
And here’s what excites fans most: this feels sustainable.
Feeding the hot hand inside isn’t a gimmick. It’s repeatable. It forces defenses to react. It opens kick-out threes. It slows down the game when needed. It provides a go-to option when the outside shots aren’t falling.
Kentucky doesn’t need a dramatic overhaul. It needs consistency in the right adjustments.
If Pope continues to emphasize high-efficiency touches inside—particularly through Jelavic—this offense could stabilize at the perfect time. And if he doesn’t? Big Blue Nation will definitely have something to say about it.
One adjustment changed the conversation. Now the question is whether it becomes the foundation moving forward.
