Mountain Mamba it is for Trent Noah! "I like it a lot."

Get the t-shirts printed, folks. We have a winner! Mountain Mamba it is for Trent Noah, confirmed by the Harlan County native himself.

It started during Kentucky’s win over Tennessee in Knoxville a few weeks back, the name coming organically while celebrating Noah’s 25-footer from the top of the key as the Wildcats pulled off the big-time upset. His shot, coming while physically standing on the E in Tennessee on the halfcourt logo, put UK up by double-digits before the road team ultimately closed out the 78-73 top-10 win.

As word spread of Noah’s new Mountain Mamba nickname, Mark Pope poured gasoline on that fire by making it clear he’s a big fan.

“Speaking of which, is this true? I heard this today for the first time. Is this Mountain Mamba a real thing? The Mountain Mamba? I love it, Mountain Mamba,” Pope said after the victory in Knoxville. “I just heard that today, and I was like, this is fantastic!”

The momentum is obvious, but it can’t be considered official until Noah signs off on it, right? That finally came true on Monday while previewing Kentucky’s second matchup against Tennessee — fitting considering where it all started.

“I mess with it, I like it a lot,” Noah said of Mountain Mamba. “That was really clever, whoever came up with that. I think it kind of represents me really, really well. That’s cool.”

You get the overlap of Kobe Bryant’s confidence and John Denver wordplay, perfect for an unconscious sniper out of Eastern Kentucky. He wouldn’t have it any other way, not familiar with other nicknames — Sweet Mountain Angel Baby thankfully ruled out before that nonsense could ever take off — and not needing to be.

This one works the way all great nicknames should: natural, unforced and unique.

“I haven’t heard many other ones, that’s the main one. But no, I like it. That’s cool. That’s really cool,” Noah said. “… My name is kind of short, so it’s hard to play on words and stuff like that. But I like the Mountain Mamba. That’s cool.”

Like all great players, though, Lamont Butler expects more nicknames where that one comes from as Noah inches toward stardom in blue and white. He’s too talented to be limited to just one down the road.

“That’s just one of the nicknames he’s gonna get,” Butler said. “I’m pretty sure he’ll get a bunch as his time goes on (at Kentucky).”

For now, though, Mountain Mamba is Trent Noah approved.