Kentucky has two shooters (and makers) in Kellan Grady, Davion Mintz

“We have shooters, we just don’t have makers” is a classic Cal-ism. It’s one the Kentucky head coach has uttered time and time again in recent years, pointing to how his teams consistently have players who can take shots from deep, they just can’t make them. And to his “credit”, throughout John Calipari’s tenure as the Wildcats head coach, that’s been mostly true.

He might have to retire that phrase this season, though.

Calipari went out and loaded up on perimeter shooting in the offseason, adding snipers such as transfers Kellan Grady and CJ Fredrick while also bringing in freshmen TyTy Washington and Bryce Hopkins. Davion Mintz and Dontaie Allen both returned with reputations as talented shooters while Sahvir Wheeler and Keion Brooks Jr. have shown early signs of improvement in that area.

What all this boils down to is Kentucky is going to take a lot of outside shots this season; the early results back that up. Calipari finally embracing the new age of pace-and-space basketball.

The ‘Cats took 29 three-pointers in the first exhibition game against Kentucky Wesleyan College, hitting 11 of them. Had it been a regular-season game, that would have marked the second-most triples ever attempted by a Calipari-coached Kentucky squad.

Against Miles College, UK shot 11-19 from downtown. Despite losing to Duke by eight earlier this week, the ‘Cats still shot 7-18 (38.9 percent) from deep. On Friday night in a 100-60 win over Robert Morris, Kentucky shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc at a clip of 12-23.

If we take the two exhibition games into account, UK is 41-89 from long range; a blistering 46 percent through four outings this season. Odds are high that number will take a significant dip, but it would easily be the highest mark for the program since the incorporation of the three-point line if it held true.

All that being said, it hasn’t been a total team effort when it comes to knocking down triples. TyTy Washington did not hit a three-pointer against Duke or Robert Morris. Keion Brooks Jr. went 2-7 in that span. Bryce Hopkins has yet to let one fire from distance.

Kentucky’s newfound ability to knock in treys stems from two specific players: Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz (with a little unexpected juice from Sahvir Wheeler).

Taking into account the two exhibition games, those two are a combined 17-33 from three-point land; Grady is 11-20 while Mintz comes in behind at 6-13. It’s no coincidence that they’re both the two oldest players on the roster, either.

Grady and Mintz don’t think in terms of makes and misses. They think in terms of helping the team win. In their individual roles, that means taking (and making) a bunch of threes. The sharpshooting duo shot a combined 8-11 from deep against Robert Morris, and was a perfect 7-7 throughout the second half.

Mintz, who shot nearly 38 percent a season ago, was actually struggling from deep in the exhibition games and into the Duke matchup, finally hitting a rhythm against Robert Morris.

“I felt like, initially, I had a lot of weight on my shoulders like I wanted to really hit one,” Mintz said after the win. “And I felt like with it being the (home) opener; I know in the exhibitions I wasn’t shooting it well and just to finally, to decompress, once I hit one I just feel like I can’t miss once I see one go through. So it was a really great feeling.”

Having a short memory is key in being an elite shooter. Mintz and Grady have shot well over 1,000 career three-pointers throughout their college careers. They know exactly what it means to move on to the next shot.

“First, having the mental strength, knowing that you can’t get too high or get too low, stay even-keeled,” Mintz said. “And then also, teammates and the coaching staff, that’s what really picks a shooter up. I had no question in my mind that those guys wanted me to keep shooting because they were finding me, telling me. And that’s what builds you up.”

Having Grady and Mintz lurking on the wings is a luxury that Kentucky isn’t used to. Having them play with the minds of five-year college veterans (six in Mintz’s case) is an even different, yet positive twist. Don’t expect any lengthy shooting droughts. And if one does surface, definitely don’t expect it to affect other parts of their games.

Kentucky has two excellent, veteran shotmakers on the roster, mixing together a formula that is uncommon in Lexington. Calipari will gladly retire one of his favorite phrases if it means his team hits 40-plus percent from distance.