Kentucky promises to keep shooting amid slump -- and will find other ways to win if they don't fall

Kentucky planned to be one of the best shooting teams in college basketball this season while taking at least 30 attempts from three per game — ideally 35, if possible. The Wildcats went 13-36 against Bucknell and 17-39 against Jackson State, but have not cleared the 30-attempt mark in their other seven contests. They did, however, hit at least ten 3-pointers in their first five games for the first time in school history, efficiency making up for the volume.

Then the team hit a shooting slump it hasn’t been able to overcome as of late, finishing 8-29 vs. Western Kentucky, 7-26 vs. Georgia State, 7-27 at Clemson and 7-25 vs. Gonzaga for a combined 29-107 in four games, good for just 27.1 percent and an average of 7.25 makes per contest in that span.

The finish in Seattle was exciting, sure, but Mark Pope acknowledged the shooting had to get sorted out sooner rather than later.

“We will get to that. We got to fix that,” he said. “That’s gonna be a really important part of our agenda, but we have it in us. We’re learning, and the process we’re in right now, is we’re gonna grow. We’re gonna keep getting better and better and better.”

Fortunately for the Wildcats, they’ve still found other ways to win, particularly by scoring in the paint and at the line. They combined for 63 points in those two areas out of 90 total in the win over Gonzaga. If there were any questions about this team being one-dimensional going into the season, this recent stretch of play has certainly answered them.

The long-term goal, though, is to get back to firing away with both efficiency and volume. The players are more than comfortable with the latter — no wavering confidence while working toward the former.

“I don’t think there’s any hesitation or any doubt behind that. We work on it every day,” Ansley Almonor told KSR of the team’s recent shooting struggles. “We’re still confident. Coach says to keep shooting, we shoot every day in practice. We get our work in. I know that when the time comes, we’ll be one of the best shooting teams in the country.”

Take one stretch against the Bulldogs, for instance. With the Wildcats down by double-digits in the first half — 30-18, to be exact — Almonor launched not one, not two, but three 3-pointers in a single possession that included two offensive rebounds. He missed the first two, but drilled the third to stop the bleeding a bit.

Not a single doubt crossed his mind as the ball left his hands on all three, trusting the countless hours and reps he’s put in to ultimately get one to fall through. Then it fell.

“It’s just something that Coach preaches,” Almonor said. “He showed that possession on film, we were down nine or something at that point. He felt our energy was good. Just because that’s something he preaches, keep shooting, it doesn’t matter if you miss or not. Keep shooting. We work on it every day. Just being confident to make that shot, that’s something he loves and he preaches. I definitely think that helped me, for sure.”

That’s a product of hard work paying off, obviously, but also infinite confidence from the head coach in his players’ abilities. The Wildcats could miss a hundred shots in a row and Pope would believe attempt No. 101 was going in.

The numbers may not always be pretty when you play with that mindset, but the players won’t ever think twice when the time comes to hit the shot.

“It helps when your coach tells you to keep shooting, even if you’re missing it or you’re having a bad day,” Almonor continued. “Not a lot of coaches in the country are going to do that. It’s freeing, it makes you play loose. That makes you want to play for him.”

And if the shots aren’t falling? They’ll continue to fight the way they did in Seattle and find other ways to come away victorious. One way or another, you’re going to get this team’s best shot.

“We’re a veteran team. We’ve been at a lot of different schools with different situations,” Almonor told KSR. “We kind of know what it takes to win. That’s what we’re trying to build here, being able to win no matter how the game goes, if the shots are falling or if they’re not. It doesn’t matter, we’re going to try to go out there and win every game.

“That’s kind of our DNA right now: find a way to win.”

Kentucky’s matchup vs. Colgate on Wednesday could be a chance for the Wildcats to find a way to win from the perimeter, getting back on track after a cold stretch in the past couple of weeks. The Raiders are one of the worst teams in the country in terms of 3-point defense, allowing teams to shoot 37.3 percent from deep, good for No. 323 nationally.

The open looks will be there for Pope’s group inside Rupp Arena. Will they be able to take advantage of those opportunities? The players will certainly be comfortable firing away.