Mark Pope: 'We'll never turn down an open shot'

This offseason, Mark Pope went out and got a team full of guys who fit his system, and it all revolves around shooting. This team has shooters everywhere. Guys like Milan Momcilovic, Alex Wilkins, Ousmane N'Diaye, Kam Williams, Justin McBride are all very good shooters.

One of the more surprising shooters out of the group has been N'Diaye, who is more known for his athleticism than shooting, but has been a threat from deep so far this season and has not turned down an open shot. Mark Pope was asked on Friday how much of a green light he is giving the versatile 7-footer. His response? "We'll never turn down an open shot."

Oct 28, 2026; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Ousmane N'Diaye (19) shoots the ball against UCF Knights forward Jason Asemota (55) during the second half at Rupp Arena Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Ousmane is a terrific shooter. He was always in the 75-plus percentage range in our summer shooting," Pope said. "All of our guys, like, we shoot every open shot. We'll never turn down an open shot. You have to have that in order to get to the 35 threes (per game) that we love to chase. The quality of shots matters. You know, there's a difference between shots off the bounce and shots that are a space shot. There's a difference between shots off the run and shots that are catch and shoots. There's a difference between shots that you can own and finish, and those that you can't. And so there's some discretionary space in there. But he's going to shoot it. Like we need him to shoot it. We're going to encourage him to shoot it."

Speaking of shooting, Milan Momcilovic is widely considered the best shooter and college basketball. Through three games, other than overtime against UCF, he hasn't been as aggressive hunting for his own shots. Mark Pope talked about how they are continuing to find ways to create looks for him from deep.

"I don't have to tell Milan much of anything. He's pretty self-sustaining," Pope said of Momcilovic. "It's It's fun to have a guy that you kind of just stay out of his way more than anything else. We're continuing to try, like, I'd love to get him more shots. That's where we're living, is how can we find more creative ways to get him shots? How can we earn them just when we're in our secondary offense, our flow offense and how can we earn him shots out of play calling and it's not hard because he's such an aggressive shooter, he makes really tough shots."

One thing is clear, this team is going to let it fly from deep and they're not afraid to. It's going to be interesting to see how much Pope and his staff start to implement offensive sets to get guys like Momcilovic more looks from deep.

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