Mark Pope sends more praise Trent Noah's way: 'He's been absolutely outstanding'

At Media Day earlier this week, Kentucky men’s basketball sophomore Trent Noah pointed to having a “year under his belt” as something that will allow him to make a jump in his game going into the 2025-26 season.

The Harlan County product only saw 11.1 minutes per game across 24 contests as a true freshman in 2024-25, but those were unexpected minutes in the first place. Injuries to teammates ahead of Noah in the rotation forced him into action. Head coach Mark Pope trusted him to make plays. Noah did plenty of it, especially at home against Tennessee (11 points, 3-4 3PT) and on the road against Texas (7 points, 6 rebounds).

That extra clock is only going to help him as a sophomore. Pope has seen it translate all summer long.

“Trent Noah is crushing it so far in camp,” Pope said Friday morning on the KSR Radio Show. “He’s in the mid-60s (percent) in live five-on-five shooting the three. He’s making great decisions on the floor.

“It’s fun, year two, because guys walk in the gym already understanding what’s trying to be accomplished and how to do it. And so they start to get to rift off of it, they really get to start to play the game instead of just doing the game. And he’s certainly doing that. He’s been absolutely outstanding so far in camp.”

During Tuesday night’s Pro Day, the Big Blue Nation got to see what Pope was talking about. Noah was among the clear standouts in front of 30 NBA scouts. His three-point shot was automatic, just like his teammates were telling us in the summer. Physically, he appears to have slimmed down and muscled up throughout the offseason. Pope mentioned at Media Day that Noah is scoring an absurd 1.76 points per possession in live reps.

“Trent has made a massive jump,” he added.

At Media Day, Noah also made sure to give his teammates (and Pope’s ability to draw up plays for him) plenty of credit for allowing his practice numbers to look so good. “It definitely makes it easier when I have so many good players around me,” he said.

But the reality is he’s the best outside shooter on Kentucky’s roster (although Kam Williams deserves a seat at the table, too). At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, he’s also an effective rebounder. Shooting and rebounding alone will get him on the floor — being able to play defense at an SEC level is what will keep him there.

Kentucky’s roster is as deep as it gets, but we might just be in for a breakout season from the Mountain Mamba.