Feb 15, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope reacts during the first half against the Texas Longhorns at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Will Kentucky's best three-point shooter this season be a surprise?

Originally posted on Kentucky Wildcats on SI
By Andrew Stefaniak | Last updated Sep 30, 2025 10:43 AM ET

As all Kentucky fans know, Mark Pope is a coach who likes his team to shoot the three-ball a lot. When he was first hired to be the head coach at Kentucky, he told fans that he wanted to shoot over 30 threes per game, but the Wildcats fell short of that number a year ago.

This offseason, Coach Pope told the media that he wants the Wildcats to get to that 30 threes per game goal this season and that he was disappointed that it didn't happen a year ago.

When Coach Pope wants to get something done, he is going to get it done, so knowing that he didn't last season when it came to shooting 30 threes per game, this likely frustrated him all offseason, and he will go out of his way to make it happens this year.

For some reason, some Kentucky fans are concerned about three-point shooting with this season's team, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The Wildcats are going to be an excellent shooting team all over the floor this season.

The projected starting lineup includes Jaland Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen, Otega Oweh, Mo Dioubate, and Brandon Garrison.

Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Lowe didn't have a great season shooting the ball percentage-wise last year at Pitt, but a big part of this is because he had to take some questionable shots for this team to score. At Kentucky, he will get more open looks, and this will improve his percentages a lot.

Aberdeen is a really good three-point shooter who is going to shine in a larger role this season. Oweh shot a solid percentage from three last season, but it wasn't on all that many attempts. He had a hitch in his shot, and this offseason, he is working to improve his shooting. A better shooting Oweh would be a scary sight for opposing teams.

Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Garrison and Dioubate both showed the ability to shoot the ball last season, even for forwards, so they will be a threat from deep with the ball in their hands.

Off the bench, the Wildcats have some sharpshooters. Kam Williams, Jasper Johnson, Collin Chandler, Trent Noah, and Andrija Jelavic are all elite shooters, so perhaps the Wildcats' reserve players will be the best shooting lineup this team has.

With all of this being said the player who I predict to lead the Wildcats in three-point shooting is Kam Williams. He shot over 40% as a true freshman last season at Tulane on 4.6 attempts per game. He is going to have a massive year shooting the ball off of the bench for the Wildcats.

Kentucky fans can rest assured knowing this team is going to shoot the three-ball a lot, and like last season, they will shoot it at a high percentage.

This article first appeared on Kentucky Wildcats on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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