Trent Noah, a 'quick-trigger' shooter who is 'always ready,' lives out Kentucky dream in debut

“Trent is not shy,” Mark Pope said of the freshman out of Harlan County, adding that Kerr Kriisa was on the cusp of ripping his clothes off on the bench when Trent Noah entered the game in the second half and drilled four straight 3-pointers to bring the roof down.

It was a moment, one that explained an all-time night inside Rupp Arena to perfection. You already had 10 players score for Kentucky in a beatdown, then the 11th man enters the game and goes nuclear.

When you’re hot, you’re hot. And everyone on the roster was hot in a 71-point blowout win to get the Mark Pope era started on the highest of high notes.

Otega Oweh said that sequence with Noah is everything you need to know about this group.

“It’s crazy. That just shows you how deep we are,” he told KSR. “(He’s shown) exactly what he did: quick-trigger, letting it go, making plays and he’s always ready. You guys kind of saw it, he sat the whole first half, came in the second and banged four straight threes. That’s huge.”

What was it like for Noah to live it, watching the scoring explosion from the bench before getting his shot in the second half and catching fire himself? It was no surprise for the freshman forward — or any of the Wildcats, for that matter. That’s the identity of this team under Pope, the first-year coach prioritizing shot volume and efficiency above all else.

To do that, you’ve got to instill confidence in your guys to take and make those shots. Noah drilling four straight threes off the bench is a prime example of that, simply joining the club of big-time shooters on this team to combine for 21 makes on 42 attempts.

“That’s what we do. I really credit Coach Pope and the coaching staff, they instill confidence in us. That’s what you need as a shooter,” Noah said. “It’s a fun brand of basketball where you can go down and shoot threes freely. I feel like it’s fun to watch, too, so it’s a win-win. I’m just super thankful and blessed to be in this position. I trust Coach Pope. He’s a brilliant coach, he’s a mastermind. We had so many guys out there cooking.”

A good way to build that confidence? Pulling you for not taking shots rather than missing shots. If you’re in the floor, you’re going to let it fly or sit down so someone else can. You have no choice but to be confident playing for Pope — the shots are going up one way or another.

“If you miss a few shots and you don’t shoot the next one, that’s the mistake,” Noah said. “It’s not that you’re missing them, it’s that you didn’t take it. I think it’s a privilege to play for a coach like that. I’m just super thankful for him and the way that he’s developing me and the rest of the guys on the roster.”

You don’t get 42 attempts from deep without elite ball movement, and that was the case with the Wildcats racking up 32 assists on 48 total baskets while turning the ball over just five times. It’s a fun brand of basketball that’s also a selfless brand, one that gets everyone involved. That’s how you get 11 scorers with eight in double figures for 123 total points.

“I feel like we were making plays for each other all night. That’s what ultimately makes it fun. Whether you’re hitting threes or not, making making plays for each other, we had countless times where we had passes for dunks and stuff like that. Whenever you’re playing for other people and your team — that’s what we preach about. It’s cool to see it translate to the floor.”

It’s a fulfilling moment for Noah in particular, a guy who admits he struggled when he first got to campus. He said the speed of the game was getting to him and he wasn’t hitting shots, but the coaches kept pushing and pushing waiting for the breakthrough.

Then it came in the team’s first exhibition game, Harlan County’s finest turning his dream into a reality as a Wildcat inside Rupp Arena.

“It was awesome. Like I always say, it’s a dream come true,” Noah said. “It’s amazing playing for the University of Kentucky, such a prestigious program. It’s the mecca of college basketball. What more could you ask for?”