Basketball old-timers are fine with 3-pointers, but ask, ‘What happens to Kentucky when none of the 3s are falling?” Mark Pope has an answer following UK’s win over Georgia State.
When Mark Pope was hired to be Kentucky’s new basketball coach, many fans were thrilled to learn that, at long last, the 3-point shot would be the primary weapon for the offense.
Pope’s previous Brigham Young team finished 2024 with the second-most 3-point attempts in the nation.
“Thirty-five 3-point attempts a game,” we were told, and players would be chastised at halftime if they were operating behind that pace.
That was a stark contrast for Big Blue Nation to John Calipari’s last Kentucky team in 2024, which featured three of the top six 3-point shooters in the nation. Only Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham, future NBA 1st Round draft selections, didn’t have enough attempts to qualify for the rankings.
It remains one of the great crimes against basketball humanity.Pope, however, was going to change all that, though there were some naysayers. Older fans, those who grew up on the game before a 3-point shot even existed, sounded the alarm: What happens when they miss nearly all their 3-point tries?
Specifically, in Kentucky’s game with Georgia State on Friday night, what happens when the Wildcats miss 19 of 26 shots from beyond the arc?
Many teams all in on the 3 – Alabama comes to mind – are doomed if they are ice cold from beyond the arc. Kentucky, however, is already bucking that trend as evidenced in wins over Western Kentucky and again on Friday night in a 105-86 win over Georgia State.
Against WKU, Pope’s team hit 8-of-29 from 3-point range for 26 percent, but managed 52 percent from inside the arc on 17-of-33 to gain the 87-68 win.
Against Georgia State, the contrast was more profound as UK shot 27 percent from 3, but a staggering 60 percent from 2 to win 105-86.
“What I’m super proud of is on a night where we didn’t shoot the ball great, we outscored them in the paint 62 to 24. That’s super cool,” Pope said. “We went a different way against Western Kentucky. I think we went a different way tonight. I think we have a team that can meet the moment.”
Point guard Lamont Butler drove the lane at will, making all seven shots. His three misses were from beyond the arc.
“Lamont Butler was like, ‘My gosh, every time I turn my guy’s hips and get to the rim, there is nobody there,'” Pope said. “That’s a tribute to our guys shooting the ball so well and being so dangerous and cutting so hard.
“My goodness, he was good today,” Pope said. “His maturity in the game and the fact he’s not blindly racing downhill. He’s a prober now and he’s manipulating all the pieces on the court is what allows him to be a 7-for-10 guy tonight and probably a 7-for-10 guy the next night and next night. I’m telling you, he’s growing so fast in his game right now. He’s been awesome. I thought he was brilliant on the court.”
Jaxson Robinson was 8-for-9 inside the arc. Otega Oweh was 5-for-7, Amari Williams, 4-for-6, as Kentucky shot poorly from 3, but still cracked 100 points again as the top scoring team in the nation.
So while UK fans love the 3, they love wins more and will take the 7-0 start however they can get it.
“We’ll always strive towards being the character of what we are,” Pope said. “But when the game just doesn’t play that way, I think we find other ways to win it and that’s going to be really important for us to be a great team.
“A great team to do that can win in different ways,” Poe said, “and the 62 points in the paint was super exciting to me.”
