Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats have to improve this metric next season

The 2025-26 season did not go as planned for the Kentucky Wildcats, so this offseason, Mark Pope is going to have a lot of work to do to get this program back on track. When Pope got to Lexington to be the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, fans expected his team to shoot a ton of threes. He wanted to be a top ten team in three-point attempts per game, shooting between 30 and 35 a game.

Over two seasons at Kentucky, Pope hasn’t been able to get this done, and it was even worse this season. The shooting wasn’t as good as Pope would have wanted, so this team had to change the way they played. The injury to Jaland Lowe played a role in this, but Kentucky, on average, shot 23.9 threes a game. This ended up having the Wildcats 153rd in the nation when it comes to three-point attempts per game.

While Coach Pope wasn’t able to get as many three-point attempts per game as he would have wanted this season, it will definitely be a goal for the Wildcats next season. Coach Pope gambled on some shooters last offseason, and the injuries definitely didn’t help. This offseason in the transfer portal, Coach Pope has to go get himself some sure-fire shooters.

The Wildcats were much better in year one under Pope from three and still didn’t get all that close to reaching his goal. This offseason, Pope is going to have a lot of work to do in the portal, knowing the Wildcats only have one 2026 recruit, and one thing Pope has to do is lock down some elite shooters.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope greets a referee before the game against the Iowa State Cyclones during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

There are already a ton of names that have entered their name in the portal, and Coach Pope will be able to reach out once it opens on the 7th. A lot of good shooters have entered the portal, and I am willing to bet that Pope has already watched film on many of these players. More names will enter the portal, and once they do, Pope is going to jump all over players who can shoot a solid clip.

This is a very important offseason for Coach Pope, and the coaching staff moves he has made prove that he is aware of this. Knowing the magnitude of this offseason, Pope needs to get the necessary players for him to be able to shoot 30+ threes per game next season. This will all come down to the job he does in the transfer portal.