Mark Pope discusses Kentucky's "green-light" offense and 3-throw responsibilities - "We want to be really aggressive"

Mark Pope has been talking about the idea of making his program a run-and-gun three point heavy unit for months. Fans got a trailer of it in the Wildcats’ Blue-White game on Friday, where both teams combined for 49 3-point attempts on a mostly running clock. From the looks of the scrimmage, it seemed like almost everyone was lighting it up from the long range.

Moreover, when Pope was asked about the players that have the right to take threes, he gave a response that not many D1 coaches can.

“Everybody does. We’re a green-light team,” Pope said to Sports Illustrated’s Andrew Stefaniak. “We want to be really aggressive, and we trust each other.”

Kentucky displayed a shoot-first mentality in the scrimmage, complimented by teammates seeking to cut for the lane. However, the players only made 17 of the 49 threes (34.7%). It is less than the Wildcats' 40.9% 3-point conversion rate from the last season, way less when considering the hype Mark Pope has cultivated around his team's long-range abilities.

Nevertheless, the players shot the ball with confidence all night, in line with Pope's instructions. There were other good signs as well. The offense never stopped, as the average possession time was less than 15 seconds for each side. Despite the players' apparent uneasiness in playing fast, they made up by being aggressive and scrappy for the ball.

Which player on Mark Pope's roster had the best scrimmage?

In September, Mark Pope shared that Andrew Carr went through five practices without missing a single shot. While he missed some in the Blue-White scrimmage, Carr was clearly the top overall performer of the night.

The 6-foot-11 forward went six of 11 from the field (3 of 4 from three) and 10/10 from the charity stripes to accumulate 25 points, seven boards and four dimes. He also held his own on the defensive end of the floor.

Collin Chandler posted 19 points (4 of 7 from long range). The freshman was aggressive in the open court and also displayed an abilty to make tough passes. He was equally active on the defensive end, disrupting passes in the lanes and also pickpocketing the ball for transition plays.