Kentucky veteran transfer target is a perfect fit for Mark Pope’s system

There is one thing above all that defines Mark Pope’s identity as a head coach and that’s the three-point shot. For a long time, John Calipari was reluctant to accept the five-out reality of modern basketball. That reluctance cost him the 2015 National Title and let the rest of college basketball pass them by.

Beyond just embracing analytics, the new wave of college basketball is winning with age and experience. Once Coach Cal finally accepted pace and space offense in 2023-24, the freshmen who were the foundation of his roster crumbled in March. 

Kentucky is now all-in on modern basketball with Pope and he’s targeting the perfect veteran three-point shooter to plug into his system for Year 1. Last season, Pope’s BYU Cougars shot the most threes in the country and scored over half of their points from beyond the arc. Adding the best three-point shooter in the entire country would be a match made in heaven. 

Koby Brea shot 6.1 threes a game for the Dayton Flyers in the 2023-24 season and made 49.8% of those attempts. His 3.0 made three-pointers a game only ranked 26th in the country, but in Pope’s offense, the 6-foot-6 fifth-year senior would likely be attempting upwards of 10 a game and could easily lead the league in makes. 

With Brea’s efficiency from deep and size on the wing, he should be an NBA target, but he needs to prove he can shoot at volume and do it at the highest level. Kentucky will allow him to do both. 

On the other hand, Mark Pope needs a true knockdown shooter in his program with Antonio Reeves graduating and both Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham likely heading for the NBA. There is no better fit for Kentucky's new offense than Brea, who should be Pope’s top priority in the transfer portal. 

Kentucky has reportedly been in contact with the Dayton transfer, but they were a bit late to the party and behind other blue-bloods like Kansas, Duke, and UConn. 

If Pope can land Brea it will be the first big win of his tenure in Lexington and a sign of good things to come for the program.