After two high-profile exhibition games, the primary concern for Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats is no longer a secret. It's not depth, rebounding, or even point guard health. It's far and away, shooting.
Kentucky's inability to convert open looks was glaring, and it threatens to be the one weakness that could define this team's ultimate ceiling. You can not have a deep March run without making 3's, let alone win a national title. And let's be clear, that is the goal with this roster.
The system is working, the shots are not
Mark Pope's offensive system is a thing of beauty when it works. It's predicated on spacing, cutting, and relentless ball movement designed to do one thing: generate open threes. That will happen all year long. But you can not miss the amount of shots Kentucky is currently missing and be a top tier team.
Against Purdue, the Cats shot 9-for-29 (31%) from deep. Against Georgetown, it was even worse: 7-for-30 (23.3%), including an ice-cold 0-for-12 in the second half.
That's a combined 16-for-59 over two games, putting them at a frigid 27.1%.
A ceiling defined by conversion
This isn't a minor problem; it's a foundational one. Pope's teams at BYU were elite shooting units, and last year's team broke Kentucky's all-time made 3-point record. His system relies on that threat to create the "gravity" he talks about, pulling defenses apart to open up cutting lanes. Without that threat, there is no beautiful motion zoom offense.
If those shots don't fall, the entire offense grinds to a halt like we saw last year and Thursday night. The floor shrinks, defenders can sag into the paint to stop drives, and the offense devolves into the "one-on-one" mess we saw against Georgetown. There is not a clear one-on-one star on this team, so they can not rely on that.
Can this roster find its rhythm?
The talent is there. Collin Chandler, Jasper Johnson, Denzel Aberdeen, and Trent Noah are all considered capable shooters. Kam Williams was talked about all off-season for his shooting. But so far, none of them have found a consistent rhythm. That can not happen. The shots look okay, some of the looks are contested, nothing they won't see all year though. The issue is they just aren't making enough of them.
The question isn't whether Kentucky will get open looks this season. Mark Pope's system guarantees they will, and quite a few of them. The entire season hinges on a much simpler question: Can they make them? Because 16-for-59 will not win very many games in the SEC or NCAA tournament.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion