Mark Pope has never shied away from three-point shooting, and the summer’s practices suggest that Kentucky might be built to break records from beyond the arc.
“We track every shot, all the time, everywhere in practice,” Pope said. “By week three of the summer, you’d have thought, ‘I don’t know if we’ll break last year’s record.’ But now, as of last week, we’ve got six guys above 70 percent from three, and a seventh hovering right below that.”
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The jump in efficiency highlights the buy-in to Pope’s system, which has consistently emphasized perimeter shooting. At BYU, his 2020 team led the nation at 41.9 percent from deep, and even his Utah Valley squads posted elite numbers in their best years. In his first season at Kentucky, the Wildcats shot 37.5 percent, good enough to establish a new program record.
This offseason, Croatian forward Andrija Jelavić topped out at 77 percent in recent practice sessions, while freshman Jasper Johnson recently joined the 70-percent club. Kentucky guard Collin Chandler added that Kam Williams lit up practice with a streak of 10 straight threes in a scrimmage.
Skeptics have questioned whether Kentucky has enough proven shooters, as only two players on the roster attempted more than 2.6 threes per game last season. But Pope insists the progression is real.
“It translates to games,” he said. “It always has for us.”
