Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Shoots Too Many Mid-Range Shots and Too Little Threes, and the Stats Prove It

Published

4 years ago

December 6, 2021

Tristan Pharis

Photos by Chet White | UK Athletics

Note: All stats are as of 12/5/21

My biggest frustration with John Calipari in recent years has been his stubbornness against shooting more three-point shots and to keep shooting mid-range shots. In the past, Calipari could rely on his lack of “three-point makers” as an excuse, but that is not the case this season.

Good at Making Threes, Not So Good at Shooting Them

Seven games in, Davion Mintz, Kellen Grady, and TyTy Washington are shooting over 40% from three. This doesn’t even include a struggling Dontaie Allen, that will almost certainly find his shot. As a team, Kentucky is in the top 60 and shooting their best percentage from three since the 2012 championship season at 33%, compared to their 38%.

You would have to go back over two decades to the 1996-97 team to find a Kentucky team with three players that played meaningful minutes and shot 40% from three. Not to mention, that 1996-97 team (19.4 attempts per game) shot nearly the same amount of threes as we do now (19.0 attempts per game), twenty-five years later.

With that being said, Kentucky is still ranked in the bottom twenty (339th to be exact) of the country in three-point attempt rate and 284th in attempts per game at 19.0. Whereas, the top 5 teams in the country are shooting an average of 24.3 attempts per game.

Ideally, this team needs to be shooting 22-23 threes per game.

Finishing at the Rim, but Not Enough Free Throws

Knowing that one would assume that the Cats should be getting to the rim and getting a lot of free attempts, right?

Kentucky is slightly above average at getting to the rim, ranking 126th, but sit behind six other top ten teams. Yet, they are taking advantage of their chances at the rim with a 67.2% conversion rate around the rim, good enough for 12th in the country.

On the contrary, their free throw rate doesn’t look too good, as they are sitting at 338 of 358 teams in that area and in the bottom 100 in total attempts.

The Least Effecient Shot in Basketball

So what does that leave? The dreadful and least efficient shot in basketball, the mid-range shot.

Nothing has aggravated me more in recent years, than a player shooting a shot just inside the three-point arc or shooting a forced and difficult 15 footer.

With 33.56 shots per 100 possessions, Kentucky shoots the fourth most mid-range shots in the country (note: UCLA is second). To make it even worst, they are not shooting effectively with these shots, averaging in the bottom half of the country in mid-range percentage.

This team is smaller and less athletic than we have become accustomed to under Cal, but they can shoot and convert at the rim better than we are accustomed to. Why not change your offense around this team’s strengths and stop shooting mid range shots?

This team is 6-1 (even with a subpar schedule) and ranked top-10 in the country, so this team is very talented. John Calipari is a hall of fame coach, and I am just a blogger that used to play basketball. However, this team is still not quite playing modern basketball and that worries me when looking at the other top teams in the country.

As the season goes on, I hope Cal can tweak his offense a bit more to the way basketball has been played for nearly the last decade.

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball’s Practice Facility Sees Major Makeover

The Joe Craft Center, after years of casual criticism from Wildcats fans, has finally been given an upgrade.

Published

14 hours ago

June 21, 2025

Lane Mills

UK Athletics

Maybe the weirdest qualm of many that plagued John Calipari’s tenure at Kentucky were the consistent complaints about the team’s practice facility, the Joe Craft Center.

From exaggerated rumors about leaks in the ceiling to general observations made about the court and facilities, fans, especially towards the end of that era, pointed to the Craft Center’s age as one of many signs of the times. Even in spite of occasional, supposed changes now and again.

In only his second year, Mark Pope has seemingly already addressed that complaint — at least to an extent.

The official Kentucky men’s basketball account recently posted a video across all social media platforms of the team during summer practice, featuring and obviously removed Craft Center court.

The court itself has been redone, in addition to the graphics and banners on the wall. Alongside the hanging threads celebrating the program’s eight national championships, a ninth one has been tacked onto the end.

It simply reads: “#9 – The Assignment.” If fans weren’t already excited enough for Coach Pope’s sophomore season, a ninth title banner being fixed in the renovation’s spotlight should send folks through the roof.

It may seem like a small thing, but given the program’s track record in the last few years, it’s the small things that feel the biggest. Mark Pope not only understands the assignment, but he’s making sure his team does, too.

Men's Basketball

Jasper Johnson Makes Final U19 USA Roster Under Coach Mark Pope

Jasper Johnson has advanced in the U19 USA camp for the second time alongside the nation’s best recruits, and under Mark Pope’s wing.

Published

1 day ago

June 20, 2025

Lane Mills

Instagram: @bruhjasperj (UK Athletics)

In a surprisingly relevant development smack dab in the middle of the offseason, Jasper Johnson has yet again advanced in the pool of players participating in the USA U19 camp.

The program, which could be a described as a sort of extension of the Team USA that just took home the gold in 2024, is comprised of some of the nation’s most anticipated talents set to take collegiate courts in the next couple of seasons.

Blue Gets In

Among them is Kentucky native and commit Johnson, and was also incoming Cat Malachi Moreno, before the latter was cut as a result of a mild injury he obtained throughout the camp’s course. Despite Moreno’s exit, his future teammate continues to impress.

Under the wing of Coach Mark Pope, who’s helmed the team in the camp up to this point, Johnson has now made the final cut after multiple roster slashes – he and only 11 other players remain in the minority that will go forward to actually compete for the team in the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup, which will take place June 28 through July 6 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The pre-competition camp serves not only as a trial of play before these athletes disperse to their own respective rosters this fall and next, but for Johnson, as a preview of what it’s like to play under Coach Pope. If his current success is any indicator, Kentucky fans may be in for something special when the pair tackle opposing teams together for the blue and white.

In similar noteworthy news, also attending the event are Taylen Kinney and Tyran Stokes, two Kentucky-born athletes with ties to Kentucky that the program is heavily recruiting. Jasper’s strong performance, combined with Coach Pope’s presence, can only help the Wildcats’ chances on that front, too.

To say the least, Mark Pope has found a way to facilitate Kentucky’s influence far beyond the boundaries of Lexington. He and Johnson, for the time being, will continue to press turn heads on the national stage, and it’s very likely that fans aren’t the only ones paying attention.

Men's Basketball

Archie Goodwin and Kahlil Whitney Set to Join La Familia This Summer

La Familia continues to add more firepower to the 2025 roster.

Published

2 days ago

June 19, 2025

Kai McClelland

James Crisp (Left), Adam Hunger (Right) | Associated Press

As the start of the 2025 TBT Tournament inches closer, La Familia has been slowly but surely adding star Wildcats to the roster.

Usually, we see announcements for new additions to the squad roll out on social media in some form, whether it be a post from La Familia’s official accounts or in form of Ansley Almonor’s announcement, which took place on BBN Tonight.

However, this time, Archie Goodwin and Kahlil “The Dragon” Whitney were added to the roster on the TBT website without any announcement, surprising Big Blue Nation as the news leaked and began to circulate.

They were removed from the website afterwards, but as of Thursday, June 19, appear on the website as listed members of the roster.

Goodwin has been an active member for years, highlighted by his semifinals appearance last year where he averaged 13.8 points per game en route.

Whitney is a name that may cause some to shed a tear, with so much potential surrounding the former five-star leading up to his debut. Ultimately, he left the program after appearing in just 18 games for Kentucky.

La Familia is competitive as all get out, shown by chippy play with guys who have nothing to lose but everything to win for the place they call home. Goodwin and Whitney, now added to that list of guys, will look to redeem themselves with one goal in mind. Win.

The official La Familia roster as of June 19:

– Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15)

– Doron Lamb (2010-12)

– DeAndre Liggins (2008-11)

– Aaron Harrison (2013-15)

– Andrew Harrison (2013-15)

– Ansley Almonor (2024-25)

– Archie Goodwin (2012-13)

– Kahlil Whitney (2019-20)