Mark Pope and Kentucky decided to go big in their recruitment activity ahead of the season. The $22 million splurge immediately catapulted them into potential contention for many experts. However, the season did not pan out that way, with the Wildcats reeling at 9-6 at one point.

Kentucky Sports Radio founder and Ohio Valley Wrestling investor Matt Jones highlighted the key aspect of what went wrong for Mark Pope during the roster-building process. Talking in the latest The Field of 68: After Dark video, Matt pointed out how Mark Pope recruited defensively powerful players and, as a result, strayed too far away from what his teams excel at, perimeter shooting.

Matt said,” It is clear that Mark Pope excels with a team that can shoot threes, and he brought in a bunch of guys who couldn’t shoot. That was the problem. I think last year the team was a great shooting team. They couldn’t guard anybody. And Mark thought, ‘If I’m going to play in the SEC, I got to get athletes to defend.'”

“And I think he went too far in the other direction. And then he got guys who could defend because this is a good defensive team. And they couldn’t shoot.”

Kentucky has since seen its fortunes improve, and an 8-1 run in conference play matchups has helped its cause. They now sit toward the top of the SEC Standings and are again looking good enough for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. However, their early-season struggles could affect their seedings and matchups heading into March Madness.

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The Kentucky Wildcats averaged more points last season (85.4) than they do now (81.2). Their shooting has improved of late, which could explain their current 8-1 run. In the last three games, Kentucky is shooting over 50% from open play. This helped them record wins over seeded teams like Arkansas and Tennessee.

Collin Chandler has added that much-needed three-point threat and is shooting over 40% from beyond the arc this season. Denzel Aberdeen has also improved the team’s efficiency from the three-point line, averaging 37.5% currently.

Beyond anything else, Kentucky struggled to find a balance between the two ends of the court early on. Mark Pope, though, seems to have found the solution now, with the team looking good on offense and now having players who can guard across several positions, which makes it harder for opponents to get easier matchups.

Slow starts still an area of concern for Mark Pope and Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats have forged their way through the early-season adversity quite admirably. Mark Pope has led Kentucky to 8 wins in their last 10 games, which has improved their overall record to 17-7. Their shooting has improved, the defense is looking solid, and the players have been putting in more effort in 50-50 situations.

The fans who turned on them because of the results are now falling in love with the Kentucky program. However, one achilles heel that is yet to be fixed by Mark Pope is their inability to start strong straight from the tip-off. The slow starts continue to trouble Kentucky, and became a cause for worry again in their latest match over Tennessee.

The Tennessee Volunteers raced to a 14-point lead by the end of the first half, the largest lead by either team in the game. The difference was the three-point shooting during the first half. Tennessee shot 8-of-14 from the three-point line in the half, and those open looks hurt Kentucky a lot. Nate Ament and Ja’Kobe Gillespie were afforded too much room, and they made them pay for it.

In contrast, Kentucky had a 2-of-9 shooting half, which compounded the troubles and was reflected on the scoreboard directly. A spirited second half ensured a narrow 3-point victory for Kentucky. But the Wildcats cannot afford to take so much time to find their shooting boots on the court.

Mark Pope has to find a way to get his players going from the beginning if they are to avoid having to come back from such huge deficits against seeded teams in the future.