Mark Pope's Kentucky Wildcats could lead college basketball in assists per game

Kentucky's ball movement will be elite this season.

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope cheers on La Familia against Herd That in the Lexington Regional Final of the TBT. July 23, 2024 / Scott Utterback/Courier Journal / USA

The term "Coach Pope's offensive system" keeps getting tossed around, and many wonder what that means. While it entails a lot of cutting to the basket and shooting threes, the other massive part of Mark Pope's offense is passing the basketball.

Last season, Coach Pope's BYU Cougars were third in all of college basketball when it came to assists per game at 18.5 per contest. The Cougars were only behind Kansas and the National Champions UConn.

Coach Pope recruited his 2024-25 Kentucky basketball team so that every player on the floor would be able to pass the basketball, even the big men. Brandon Garrison recently talked about how he and Amari Williams are two of the best passing centers in all of college basketball. Kentucky's starting power forward, Andrew Carr, is also an excellent passer. Kentucky fans know that all of the guards can pass the basketball as well.

Knowing all of this information, it seems like there is a real chance that Coach Pope's Kentucky Wildcats could lead all of college basketball in assists this season. The ball movement is what leads to open shots for the elite shooters on this team, so the passing will help this Kentucky team win basketball games.

Coach Pope's offense system is going to work really well, and at Kentucky, all of the college basketball world will get to see it on display on prime-time television.

The SEC isn't ready for the type of basketball the Kentucky Wildcats are going to play during the 2024-25 season under Coach Pope.