Mark Pope calls 2026 Wildcats ‘probably the greatest shooting team I’ve ever had’
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball program is getting ready to enter year 3 of the Mark Pope era, and there is likely to be a lot riding on the outcome of this campaign for the man who replaced the great John Calipari.
Pope got off to a hot start in his first season, winning 24 games and falling just short of an Elite 8 appearance, but took a step backward last year despite having one of the most expensive rosters in the sport.
This led the head man in Lexington to retool his roster once again over the offseason, and ESPN reporter Myron Medcalf reported on Wednesday that Pope said his 2026 squad is “probably the greatest shooting team” he’s ever had as a coach.
If this is true, the Wildcats are in for an insanely high-scoring season, as Pope has built some pretty lethal shooting squads during his time as a coach. His 2019-20 BYU Cougars team actually led the entire nation in 3-point field goal percentage (42.2%) and were top-3 in overall field goal percentage.
Kentucky has struggled with connecting on their deep shots over the past couple of seasons, and this issue is one that Pope has clearly made an effort to address heading into the 2026 campaign.
If this Wildcats squad is as good as he seems to think it is, Kentucky could very well end up right back in the SEC and National Championship picture come March.
