When Mark Pope arrived in Lexington in spring of 2024, he said over and over again that he wanted Kentucky to average anywhere from 30 to 35 three-point attempts per night. And year one, his team shot averaged just over 25; that's a goal met. In year two, however, that average dropped to 23. To be fair, with Koby Brea-like player to really be the go-to guy from beyond the arc that made sense. That won't be an issue in year three, though.
Milan Momcilovic became the Cats' three-point go-to upon his commitment, but it isn't just him that opponents have to watch out for. Kam Williams will be back for year two (and is recovering from his surgery), and Trent Noah is now in his own year three and is tracking well in summer practice. With Pope wanting to jack it up from deep once more, he reportedly told Williams that he didn't care about percentages, and that if the numbers were too high, Kentucky wasn't doing it right (per KSR).
“He kind of tells us that, me and (Milan), pretty much every day. And Trent as well...He’s kind of telling us all the time, you want our percentages to look differently. If our percentage is too high, then that’s a problem. Just different things like that.”
Is this finally the Kentucky team that actually hits Pope's lofty 30 three-point shots a night goal?Williams seems to believe so.
Kentucky's Three-Point Barrage is Coming
“I’m pretty sure...I feel like we have a great shooting team, and there’s definitely a strong emphasis that we can use this year and take advantage of this year, because we have a lot more shooters on this year’s team than last year’s team. So, definitely, we can make a lot of noise, for sure.”
Music to BBN's ears, no doubt.
There are few things that ignite Rupp Arena more than a three-point shootout - fans just love the long ball, and it appears that this year's Kentucky team will give them what they want. Last year, Momcilovic shot a truly insane 136-279 from deep. Williams was just 28-78, but the year prior, leveled 63-153. An expanded role this time around should benefit him. Noah went 17-51 with more limited minutes as well, but with all three guys being given the green light, those numbers should further improve.
That means if you play those three on the floor with Zoom Diallo and Malachi Moreno, you have three dudes who can shoot it from all over the floor. There's no way a double can get to any of them consistently, and besides, Zoom Diallo is a one-on-one nightmare for just about every defender possible due to his strength and ability to get downhill.
So, Cats fans, get those "3" signs out of the closet and clean off your googles; the three-point barrage is coming to Lexington, and hopefully like never before.
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