Since his arrival as the Kentucky basketball coach some 18 months ago, Mark Pope’s time in Lexington has been dotted with oft-cited phrases and slogans.
Players have spoken about understanding “the assignment” with the Wildcats, as well as the all-encompassing effort to raise national championship banner No. 9 at Kentucky.
Now, ahead of Pope’s second season as the Kentucky coach and with likely the highest-paid roster in college basketball in place, Kentucky is using another go-to phrase to help with development.
In Kentucky basketball speak, “MP4T” translates to “make plays for teammates.” It’s been a rallying cry of this UK basketball offseason.
“It is self-explanatory,” sophomore forward Trent Noah said when asked about the moniker.
Since being introduced during Kentucky’s eight-week summer practice session, “MP4T” has guided UK’s approach to fostering chemistry and cohesion on a team with four returnees and 10 newcomers.
“’It’s something we stress about each and every day,” senior guard Denzel Aberdeen said.
What about some specifics on what “MP4T” really means, and what it looks like in action? Plenty of Wildcats were eager to explain.
“Passing up a good shot for great shots,” said sophomore guard Kam Williams, formerly of Tulane. “Really being in the right spots for guys.”
“We just want to make plays for teammates,” Noah added. “Whether that’s a cut assist, a screen assist, a high-value assist. (Whatever) we can do to make somebody else’s life easier. Get them an open shot. Get them an open look. That’s what we want to do.”
Williams described a specific “MP4T” scenario while speaking to the Herald-Leader at UK’s practice facility, the Joe Craft Center.
“Let’s say we have a player that’s driving down this lane. If you’re in this corner right here, you’re giving him the space to go to the goal,” Williams said. “So I’ll say that’s making a play for him, because you’re not allowing your man to help whenever he drives, and if he does help, then you have a wide-open shot.”
Williams’ example shines a light on how broadly Kentucky’s “MP4T” term can be applied. The slogan isn’t limited to box-score categories. In fact, most things under the “MP4T” umbrella aren’t likely to show up in the stat sheet.
“Shine in whatever you’re doing,” said Reece Potter, the first-year Wildcat who starred at Lexington Catholic and previously played two college seasons at Miami (Ohio). “Whether that’s screening a play, rebounding, cutting. So just stuff like that, making plays for your teammates to score, get a rebound.”
Kentucky basketball coach Mark Pope speaks to fans during the annual Blue-White Game on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky. Brian Simms [email protected]
Mark Pope talks about UK basketball’s playmaking ability
Playmaking is the cornerstone of the offensive system run by Pope and UK assistant coach Cody Fueger. The duo is about to embark on its 11th season in a head coach-assistant coach capacity, covering spells at Utah Valley, BYU and now Kentucky.
“I think we’re coming around; that’s a process…” Pope said Friday after the Blue-White Game when asked about his team’s playmaking outlook. “It’s something we’re increasingly getting a feel for.”
Recent seasons have proven that Pope’s approach works at the high-major level.
In their final season together at BYU during the 2023-24 campaign, Pope and Fueger piloted the Cougars to the nation’s 14th-best offense, with BYU averaging 119.8 points scored per 100 possessions, per KenPom. The duo’s first Kentucky team saw the Wildcats rank 10th in the country in offensive efficiency with 123.7 points per 100 possessions. UK was seventh in the nation in traditional points per game (84.4) last season.
Projections for this season’s Wildcats are even better. The preseason KenPom rankings call for Kentucky to have the nation’s ninth-best offense in 2025-26. Injuries to starting point guard Jaland Lowe (a right shoulder issue suffered during last week’s Blue-White Game) and star transfer forward Jayden Quaintance (who is recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season) may mean that UK starts slower than expected on the offensive end.
Still, with preseason SEC Player of the Year Otega Oweh in the fold, Pope is bullish on his team’s chances to make good on the “MP4T” slogan.
“One of the things that’s going to be interesting for us is we’re so much more capable of actually beating people off the bounce than we were last year. Actually balancing that out is going to be really important,” Pope said. “… Positionally, we have several guys that actually go punish you off the bounce. So that’s going to be, I’m telling you, it’s going to be a dance for us. Because this off-ball movement is really vital to everything we do. We do have a new skill set, and so integrating those together is going to be fun.”
Aberdeen outlined that exact concept — Kentucky players beating opponents off the dribble to open up offensive opportunities for themselves and teammates —when he was explaining “MP4T.”
“Whenever a guard, or really anybody who has the ball, when they’re making an attacking move being aggressive, if you always draw two people (then) someone is open,” Aberdeen said. “… If we draw to someone and kick out for an open shot, that’s a great play. That’s making a play for a teammate.”
Kentucky forward Brandon Garrison (10) looks for an outlet pass under defensive pressure from Kentucky guard Denzel Aberdeen (1) during the annual Blue-White Game last Friday at Memorial Coliseum. Brian Simms [email protected]
Kentucky’s playmaking will lead to more 3-point shots
If all goes to plan with UK’s ability to penetrate the front line of opponents’ defenses, then the Cats will end up hoisting plenty of 3-point shots again this season.
Pope’s first Kentucky squad rewrote the record books when it came to distance shooting. The 2024-25 Wildcats set a new UK single-season record for made 3-pointers with 341, just surpassing Rick Pitino’s 1992-93 team.
You can expect plenty more fireworks from deep this season, as the “MP4T” moniker encourages analytics-friendly shots from beyond the arc and at the rim.
Noah, who shot 33.3% from 3-point range at UK last season, cited proper floor-spacing as an “MP4T” example.
“Spacing the deep corner as a shooter, it brings gravity toward your man, so your man’s always going to be closer to you, if you’re an efficient shooter,” Noah said. “And that’ll make the play for a teammate, for the gap to be longer for the closeout. So yeah, there are little things. Cut. Screen. Get an (offensive) rebound. Kick out 3. (A) drop-off for a dunk is kind of a simple one.”
“It can be off the ball. It can be on the ball. It can be a screen assist, a cut assist,” said Williams, who made 63 3-pointers last season, the most of any current UK player.
Aberdeen — who was a key reserve on Florida’s national championship team last season — has been encouraged by UK’s ability to quickly pick up and implement “MP4T” principles this offseason.
That’s a sign this talented group of Wildcats is meshing well ahead of exhibition season, which starts with a stern test against preseason No. 1 Purdue on Friday night inside Rupp Arena.
“No one on this team is selfish,” Aberdeen said. “We’re all sharing the ball. We’re all jelling well. That’s just credit to on and off the court stuff that we do, preparing for practices, hanging out off the court. So when we’re on the court scrimmaging against each other, it’s fun. We just push each other each and every day.”
Cameron Drummond
Lexington Herald-Leader
Cameron Drummond works as a sports reporter for the Lexington Herald-Leader with a focus on Kentucky men’s basketball recruiting and the UK men’s basketball team, horse racing, soccer and other sports in Central Kentucky. Drummond is a second-generation American who was born and raised in Texas, before graduating from Indiana University. He is a fluent Spanish speaker who previously worked as a community news reporter in Austin, Texas.
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