One of the many talking points of last offseason was Trent Noah and the shot-making ability he brought to the team through summer practices. Kentucky’s point guard at the time, Jaland Lowe, even went to the lengths of saying he was “the best shooter I’ve ever seen.”
But when it got to the season, people didn’t necessarily see it translate to actual gameplay. Noah finished the season averaging 3.0 points per game, on 36% from the field, and 33% from 3-point range for the Harlan County product.
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Noah is a guy that Kentucky fans have appreciated sticking around. He wasn’t even recruited by the last set of coaches in Lexington, and then got pursued by Mark Pope as soon as he got the job two offseasons ago, flipped his commitment from South Carolina immediately, and hasn’t looked back. Noah has shown flashes at different points, including in the game against Tennessee his freshman year, when he finished with 11 points.
Heading into his third season, Kentucky fans have high hopes for Noah, hoping he can carve out a role and play significant minutes as he takes a leap. Mark Pope seems to be leading the pack of people who believe that will definitely happen.
In a recent interview with Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Pope made sure to point out Noah as someone making noise in summer practices again.
“Probably the guy that’s getting talked about the least that is showing out right now is Trent Noah,” Pope stated. “He is physical, and he can really shoot it. Part of the issue last year was when we lost our point guard spot, and we lost a real creator vibe on our roster. It hurt guys like Trent, who might not manufacture a lot of shots.
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“But if shots can be manufactured for him, he’s going to make them all it feels like.”
Trent Noah will now be moved to more of a shooting guard role, and it will benefit him and those around him tremendously. Kentucky certainly isn’t lacking in the wing/forward positions. Guys like Milan Momcilovic, Justin McBride, Ousmane N’Diaye, Kam Williams, and Braydon Hawthorne will all be fighting for minutes in those roles. Noah will be able to have opportunities to get shots off this year, playing in a backcourt with two elite creators and being a threat to space the floor.
Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins both did their fair share of creating for others last season. Diallo averaged 4.5 assists per game, and Wilkins averaged 4.7 assists per game. That’s not even mentioning a veteran guard in Jerone Morton, who will help with that, and the emerging freshman guard Mason Williams.
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Mark Pope also said in the interview that Kentucky currently has six guys who are over 70% in all of their practice reps shooting the ball from the three-point line. Presumably, Trent Noah is one of those six guys, and he may be destined for that big-time leap we have all hoped for heading into year three.
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