Mark Pope loved Trent Noah's confidence vs. Colgate: 'That's how I know he's gonna be a big-time player.'

Trent Noah made the most of his extended playing time against Colgate on Wednesday night. Part of why the Harlan, KY native saw a season-high 11 minutes was out of neccessity as Kentucky was down a pair of key guards, but the freshman wing didn’t look uncomfortable by any means against the Raiders.

Noah’s stats won’t jump off the page: three points on 1-2 shooting from deep with one rebound and one assist. But he didn’t turn the ball over, played sound defense, and finished third on the team in plus/minus with a +10. Both of the Kentucky boys actually some saw extra clock in the Wildcats’ 78-67 win, but it was Noah who made an impact in this one (Travis Perry finished 0-4 from the field in his nine minutes).

“That’s gonna be a work in progress. They’re super talented players. I thought they made solid contributions tonight,” Head coach Mark Pope said of Noah and Perry postgame. “It’s hard, you know? You kinda want to get them in the game when there’s a real flow to it. Trent was in the game when there was a little bit of a better vibe.

“My favorite part of Trent Noah, and this is why I love him so much, is he’s been in the game for a good minute and seven seconds — I’m guessing, something like that. And he’s standing right in front of me and I’m like ‘Punch it, punch it! Throw it in the post. Punch it, punch it!’ And he shoots (and makes) a three, and that’s how I know he’s gonna be a big-time player.”

One of Noah’s first big college moments in Rupp Arena woke up the crowd during a game that needed energy down the stretch. His triple with a little over 14 minutes left in regulation was the third of four in a row for Kentucky. That 12-0 run for the ‘Cats off nothing but made threes ended up being the difference in an 11-point victory.

.@trentnoah2_'s turn from 3️⃣ and @Rupp_Arena is ALIVE

📺 – ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/7X0xGmntZq

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) December 12, 2024

“It was actually a really happy, joyful moment for us,” Pope said of Noah’s three-pointer. “He’s been playing so well in practice for us and he’s been working so hard. He’s really got no agenda other than to get better every day. I thought he really gave us a boost. I think he went nine straight minutes, give or take. The staff was like ‘We gotta get him out of there, he’s at nine (minutes)!”

Noah saw under 90 seconds in the first half and failed to put up any stats, but he was ready to play in round two when Pope gave him another chance. He checked in at the 15:14 mark of the second half with Kentucky down one and checked out at the 7:28 mark with the ‘Cats up by 14 — a 15-point swing with the rookie in the game.

“It was huge, honestly. I was really proud of him,” Fifth-year guard Koby Brea, who went 5-8 on his own from deep, said of Noah. “Because the shot that he did take and that he did make, it was a really confident shot.”

Noah might not be a regular part of the rotation once conference play hits, but he looked promising on Wednesday night as an important piece to the future of the program.

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