After evaluating Kentucky’s game against Wright State, it may be difficult to pinpoint numerous areas for improvement, but Coach Mark Pope is clear on one: the team must increase its offensive rebounding. In the decisive victory against Wright State, Kentucky secured only seven offensive rebounds, while Wright State managed to grab 11, winning the rebounding battle.
During his Thursday press conference, Coach Pope expressed his thoughts on the need for better offensive board performance: “We aim to have a 30% offensive rebounding rate consistently. Currently, that figure isn’t good for our team since it doesn’t reflect our potential. Ideally, if we could achieve 14 offensive rebounds per game, that would be fantastic, certainly above 10. Right now, we’re not approaching that goal at all. Last game didn’t show much improvement, but it’s a key focus for us moving forward, and I believe we will improve.”
A team like Kentucky, which intends to attempt over 30 three-pointers a game, would greatly benefit from excelling on the offensive boards for two reasons: first, three-point shots often lead to long rebounds that favor the shooting team; second, securing more offensive rebounds translates to additional scoring opportunities for one of the strongest shooting teams in college basketball.
Coach Pope is right that enhancing this aspect of their game is essential for the Wildcats throughout the season. If Kentucky can begin averaging double-digit offensive rebounds per game, they would become an even more formidable opponent.
