Freshman Malachi Moreno followed up a solid debut with a dominant 18-point, 10-rebound, 3-assist, 0-turnover performance against Valparaiso.
When asked what makes the 7-footer so effective, Mark Pope said it's a trait that you can't see just by looking at him.
“I think he's got a physicality that might be surprising actually,” Pope said. “I think when you look at him... you're going to he's going to feel a certain way... but I think he's way stronger.”
Pope praised Moreno as "our best rebounder on both sides of the ball" and said his "ceiling is really, really high."
But the most impressive stat of the night wasn't the points or rebounds; it was his decision-making.
“You think probably the most important thing, he’s a three assist zero turnover guy for a freshman big that had a ton of usage,” Pope said. “And I don't think you see that very often.”
Pope gives a baffling quote on 3-point shooting
Kentucky shot a respectable 11-for-28 (39.3%) from three-point range, a good sign after a few cold games. But when Mark Pope was asked about it, he revealed a core part of his philosophy that might sound baffling without some context.
He doesn't care about the percentage.
“You guys will be upset with me. We don't spend a lot of time talking about our three-point percentage,” Pope said. “I know that's unconventional, but um for us a lot of times the the offense starts when we shoot it. It's not a finish.”
Pope explained that in his system, a missed three is just "the beginning of an opportunity" for an offensive rebound. He's not concerned with makes; he's concerned with volume.
“We might have a game where we shoot 11%, we should win that game. And we might have a game where we shoot 40%, we should win that game. it's just baked into the cake.”
His one complaint? They didn't shoot enough. “I still am frustrated we're not getting up more. We just got to find a way to get over this 30 mark.”
Get ready to see more and more 3 point bombs from the Cats.
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