Lexington, Ky – October , 2024 – Michael Willis
Kentucky Destroys Kentucky Wesleyan in a 71 Point Win Kentucky basketball faced their first opponent with Mark Pope as head coach tonight against the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers. Kentucky fans were excited and filled Rupp Arena to get a glimpse of the Wildcats under the new helm and with it, a new style of basketball. Pope promised a hardworking and exciting brand of basketball and that is what the fans saw tonight during the 123 to 52 victory.
The biggest difference, that was evident from the first possession, was how hard the Cats hustled on both ends of the court. There were lapses on defense, but it wasn’t from a lack of effort and will improve as the season moves on. On offense, when a player shoots, the other four players are fighting for a rebound and not ball watching.
Mark Pope said in the preseason that his team will shoot a large number of three pointers per game and he kept his promise. The Wildcats shot 20 three-pointers in the first half making 8 of them and ended the game shooting 21 of 42 from behind the arc.
Another observation was the number of offensive weapons on this team and their unselfishness of the players with the basketball. Kentucky ended the game with 32 assists on 48 made field goals. The passes were always deliberate with the intention of scoring off the pass. Very few times did a player take the ball and try to score on their own.
It would be difficult to pick a player of the game since so many players performed well, but I was surprised how well Otega Oweh played at the point guard position. Oweh ended the night with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Jaxson Robinson led all scorers with 19 points and made 5 three-point baskets.
Defensively, the Cats also played well. Lamont Butler is a catalyst for the team on defense and stole theball 6 times and grabbed 5 defensive rebounds. In the post-game interview Mark Pope stated that hehas never seen a player get more steals (6) than the team had turnovers (5).
Even though Kentucky Wesleyan is not a SEC caliber opponent, tonight’s performance still showcased what Pope’s philosophy will be as the head coach of the basketball program and it looks to be a more fun and modern style of basketball.