Mark Pope thinks Kentucky have found the "best shooter in the country" in 22-year-old Koby Brea

In his first year at the helm of the Kentucky Wildcats coaching staff, coach Mark Pope has steered the squad to 12-2 overall thus far. The record includes wins over long-time rival Duke Blue Devils, the program's first since 2015, and most recently on Saturday, a 106-100 victory over the Florida Gators to open the 2025 SEC strong.

Through the success he has garnered in his first stint as head coach, Pope has made his mark towards the storied program already. One of his biggest moves was recruiting Dayton Flyers transferee Koby Brea, who dropped a team-high 23 points in just 22 minutes off the bench in the Jan. 4 triumph.

During the post-game press conference, Pope summarized his thoughts in an enthusiastic manner on his senior sharpshooter who continues to impact the campaign with his impeccable shooting skills.

"You're hard-pressed to make a real cogent argument that he's not the best shooter in the country. It's ridiculous, the way he shoots it, how he gets it off, where he shoots it, how high he shoots it. He was clearly massively important for us," he shared. (5:54)

"He's also growing immensely on the defensive end. He's also like the most beautiful kid you're ever going to meet. He's special," Pope later added. (6:30)

Truly, Pope did not mince words towards his fifth-year guard as his stellar play has been a significant factor for the No. 10-nationally ranked Kentucky Wildcats this year. After all, the 22-year-old Brea is averaging an efficient 11.9 points with 50-49-87 shooting splits, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in the 2024-2025 campaign.

Pope and the rest of the Kentucky Wildcats are now turning their attention to make sure Brea could keep his hot hand until March for the national tournament in the hopes of a deep run this year. They face the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday for their next SEC matchup on the road.

Mark Pope describes Koby Brea's Saturday performance as magical

Mark Pope also said during the post-game press conference that Koby Brea's spark off the bench was the driving factor towards their win over the Florida Gators. He expounded that without his immediate impact, Kentucky could have had a harder time against the gutsy Gators, explaining:

"How fun is it to watch Koby Brea in the second half...It's interesting, we work so hard to create shots for Koby and Koby kind of comes off an action that we think is so creative and then, he stops and he lets the defense recover because he just wants to go and shoot off the bounce. He was magical tonight, wasn't he? (5:20)

Fortunately for Brea, it seems as though he has all the green light in the world to shoot the three-ball under the tutelage of Pope. He'll be able to use this advantage to continually pad on his collegiate basketball career until it's all said and done.