Kentucky Basketball Mark Pope Will Showcase ‘Aggressive’ Offense – And Lots of 3s

LEXINGTON — A team’s style of play is dictated by several factors.

Talent. Injuries. The philosophy of a technical committee. And a multitude of other components that can vary according to the day, month or season.

Of these, team fundamentals are arguably the easiest – and most logical – way to project how a team will perform when it hits the ground running.

When it’s about Kentucky Basketball Under first-year coach Mark Pope, a look at their past offers a window into their future.

Last season in BYU, Pope’s team attempted 32 3-pointers per game (1,087 in 34 games), ranking second among Division I teams. Just North Florida had a higher average (33.2 per exit). BYU has also made its share of triples during the 2023-24 campaign: its 11.1 attempts per game ranked third nationally behind North Florida (12) and Alabama (11.2).

The Cougars also ranked in the top 10 in the nation last season in three other offensive categories, including assists per game (18.5; third), assists-to-turnover ratio (1.73; sixth) and bench points per game ( 33.5; fifth).

How much did BYU rely on shooting from beyond the arc?

The Cougars attempted more 3-point shots (1,087) than 2-point shots (1,068) last season.

Despite its approach away from perimeter bombs, BYU did so at a (somewhat) measured pace. By KenPom, the Cougars’ adjusted rhythm – the number of possessions a team has per 40 minutes, adjusted based on the opponent – of 69.2 tied for 84th in Division I. (For context: John Calipari’s last UK team ranked 12th in this category with 73.9 possessions per 40 minutes). BYU also didn’t operate at a high rate when it had the ball. By KenPom, the Cougars’ average possession lasted 16.5 seconds — more than half the time of 30 seconds; that number tied for 56th nationally.

BYU regularly used a “five-out attack“in which every offensive player on the court initiates a possession behind the 3-point line. And as much as the Cougars lean on the 3, another important aspect of the five-out offense is the space it opens up in the lane. If a The defender was too committed to defending the perimeter, the player with the ball found a cutting teammate for an easy basket.

The first batch of Wildcats who will play for Pope in Lexington are a perfect fit for this type of offensive attack.

Koby Brea was the most accurate 3-point shooter in Division I last season at Dayton, connecting on 49.8% (100 of 201) of his attempts. Ansley Almonor accounted for 93 triples in 2023-24, tying Fairleigh Dickinson’s single-season school mark. The great man Andrew Carr has made over 34% of his 3-point attempts during his college career, first at Delaware and then at Wake Forest. Kerr Kriisa converted his 3-point shots at a rate of 42.4% (61 of 144) last season at West Virginia. Otega Oweh shot 37.7% (20 of 53) from distance at Oklahoma in 2023-24. Jaxson Robinson, Pope’s leading scorer at BYU last season at 14.2 points per game, was a steady shooter on 3s, shooting 81 for 229 (35.4 percent).

And those are just the transfers.

UK’s new freshmen include two of the state’s superstars. Travis Perry, the all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school basketball history, also set a state mark for most 3-pointers made during a career (712), making 41.7% (184 of 441) from deep. his triples as a senior at Lyon County. And Trent Noah made more than 100 3-point shots last season, making 102 of 237 (43%) for Harlan County.

Although the details of Kentucky’s offense — how fast it operates, what the split will be between shots inside and outside the arc, how many points it averages — won’t be on display until the season opener in November, during its introductory press conference. On April 14, Pope provided a brief introduction to what to expect.

“We are going to be aggressive in attack,” he said.

Contact Kentucky men’s basketball and soccer reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on the X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared in the Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball offensive philosophy under Mark Pope in 2024-25