An inside look at Banner Camp with Kentucky -- "the best shot-making team in the country"

We’re suckers for basketball content around here just like the rest of you. Big Blue Madness can’t get here fast enough, though Pro and Media Days are the perfect holdovers to get us there to start next week. The perfect holdover for the holdover, though, is Banner Camp — the start of official practice for Kentucky at the Joe Craft Center — and the behind-the-scenes content UK Sports Video just dropped to wrap it all up.

It’s seven minutes of excellence, Mark Pope leading the Wildcats in two-a-days, starting with treatment and warmups at 6 AM. From there, practice starts at 7 AM, followed by a second run at 2 PM.

The Kentucky head coach set the tone right away with a message for his group, reminding them that greatness is impossible without putting in the work. And this group is going to work, meaning this group is also capable of greatness.

“The magic we’re looking for, this thing that will bring you to tears one day if you do it, is gonna be in the work we’re avoiding. We’re not avoiding this work,” Pope told the team. “We’re going to jump in wanting to become great and tied together. That’s why when you get on the court at Rupp with 22,000 fans going crazy, we’re going to be a problem because we’re so connected. There’s only one way to get there.”

All of the shooting hype you’ve heard about this team was put on full display, the likes of Jaxson Robinson, Koby Brea, Kerr Kriisa, Lamont Butler, Otega Oweh and Travis Perry all hitting shots while also highlighting some finishes in transition. From the ball movement to the shot selection to the unselfishness to the makes, it’s all there.

One sequence featuring seven passes in the half court leading to an open catch-and-shoot three for Koby Brea will make your heart beat out of your chest as the ball gracefully falls through the net.

“This is us as a team. We make shots. We put together the best shot-making team in the country, OK?” Pope said. “… We might be 0-7 in the first four minutes of the game, and then we run off 9-11 and the game is over. That’s just how it is. We shoot and we wedge, we shoot and we wedge, and we shoot and we wedge until the end of time. OK? Do it over and over, that’s who we are. That’s who we’re going to be.”

See it for yourself below:

Eight days away from Big Blue Madness, for those keeping track at home.