The Kentucky basketball team is set to shoot a lot of three-pointers this season under Mark Pope and his offense. This summer, assistant Cody Feuger went as far as to say he wants to see the Wildcats attempt 35 threes per game. For context, North Florida led the nation in three-point attempts last year with 33.2.

To shoot that many threes, you need a lot of good shooters on the roster and the Kentucky added several this offseason. A lot of talk has been on freshman Travis Perry, but the Wildcats added Dayton transfer Koby Brea, who shot a nation-leading 49.8% from three last season on 201 attempts.

With proven ELITE shooting ability at the collegiate level, it should come as no surprise that Brea was listed as the top shooter in the nation going into the 2024-25 season, by Andy Katz.

Brea is excited to see what he can do in Mark Pope’s offense, which he cited as the reason he transferred to Kentucky.

“That was the biggest draw for me. I was probably coming here just to see how perfect the system was for me,” said Brea during summer interviews. “Coach Pope did a great job of explaining to me where I can excel in the offense, the hit system in general, and the defensive system as well.”

Recruiting was a concern when Mark Pope was named the head coach of Kentucky back in April. Previously the coach at BYU, Pope was respected for his Xs and Os, but he never had a class ranked inside the Top 75.

A big reason for that was the unique set of challenges of recruiting at BYU. That included finding players willing to honor the school’s strict honor code, which doesn’t permit students to consume tea or coffee on campus. Now at Kentucky, Pope no longer has that level of restriction. Having hired two of the best recruiters in the country and using one of the biggest brands in the sport, he is going after some of the nation’s best.

Over the last month, he has already received commitments from two Top 25 prospects from the Lexington area, in Jasper Johnson and Malachi Moreno. Those two form the second-best class in the 247Sports rankings at the moment, and more are sure to be added.

How is Mark Pope attracting that talent? An infectious energy and enthusiasm for his alma mater that he now coaches for.

“The first time talking to him you could tell he’s got amazing energy,” five-star prospect Tounde Yessoufou said of Pope this summer. “His energy man, like I said his energy is amazing. Being around coaches like that, I just feel like he would push you hard to be the best you can be. So I’m just loving him.”

That energy is helping Pope and the staff build connections with players and their families. “They’re great people,” five-star Chris Cenac said of the staff this summer. “They FaceTime me often, they talk to me a lot. Great sense of humor, great guys, it’s great getting to know them honestly.”

Ryan Hampton, the No. 1 prospect in the 2027 class, is one of the latest recruits to receive interest from Kentucky. The standout sophomore cannot be contacted directly by coaches until July 15th due to NCAA guidelines, but Pope has made an impression on his father.

“Mark Pope is recruiting to put Kentucky where it should be: Back at the top.”

Kentucky has already landed two top 30 players in the 2025 recruiting cycle in big man Malachi Moreno and combo guard Jasper Johnson, who are both from the surrounding Lexington area. The staff also have their eyes on another top guard in the 2025 class, four-star combo guard Acaden Lewis who attends Sidwell Friends School in Washington, DC. 

The staff including head coach Mark Pope, assistants coaches Alvin Brooks, Cody Feuger and Jason Hart, all made the trip to DC to visit with the speedy and athletic guard and his family on Monday.

It was “super cool” Lewis’ father told KY Insider. He talked about the staff looking to make a genuine connection and was very impressed that they visited them at the Trinidad Recreation Center, one of the rough parts of the DMV.

It has been questioned if Pope would bring in two top players at the same position, and especially so with Jasper Johnson’s recent commitment. With a full staff visit, it is clear that he wants to. While talking to Lewis and his family, the Kentucky staff pitched that the two guards’ could co-exist. Explaining that Lewis’ point guard skills complement Johnson’s scoring abilities, putting shooters and playmaking bigs around them.

With a 6-2, 170-pound frame Lewis is one of the more dynamic guards in the country. Having the ability to operate effectively as a true point guard, he can also score via an improved jump shot or with some creativity around the rim. To add, he has real toughness and swagger to his game.

A commitment could be looming as Lewis plans to commit before he signs his NLI in November during the early signing period. Lewis is down to eight schools including Michigan, Kentucky, Syracuse, Duke, UCONN, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Auburn with visits to be scheduled soon as well. Both sides are working to get Lewis in for a visit this fall.