Mark Pope is giving Brandon Garrison all the confidence he needs to thrive

Brandon Garrison didn’t shoot a single three-pointer as a true freshman at Oklahoma State in 2023-24, but he knew that skill was somewhere inside of him — he just needed the right person to bring it out.

That person ended up being Mark Pope at the University of Kentucky.

Pope gave Garrison the freedom he needed to grow his game, in turn building his confidence along the way. As a 6-foot-10, 250-pound big man, Garrison was able to stretch the floor with his shooting as a sophomore at UK in 2024-25. He shot 30 percent from deep (12-40) this past season, but bumped that number up to 36 percent (9-25) against strictly SEC opponents.

“I’ve always been able to shoot, but I feel like Coach Pope helped me gain the confidence and just getting reps up in practice, after practice, stuff like that,” Garrison said during Thursday’s episode of KSR. “But he told me, as long as I shoot I gotta hold my follow through, and if it goes in or not, he’s not tripping on it.

“He likes to get up a lot of threes, so he allows the 1 through 5 to shoot, but he says as long as you own your shot, he’ll let you shoot it and have the free will to shoot the three.”

Garrison finished his first season at Kentucky by posting 5.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 17.3 minutes per outing. He shot 50.9 percent from the field while coming off the bench in all 35 games played. The Oklahoma native has elected to return to the Wildcats as a junior for the 2025-26 campaign, where his role is expected to grow even more. His playmaking, defensive versatility, and (hopefully) improved outside shooting will have him as a featured piece on next season’s frontcourt.

Pope said during this past season that Garrison is “sometimes wrong but never in doubt.” It’s a spot-on way to describe him. While Garrison didn’t always make the best decision, he was never one to hesitate. That mindset is what allowed him to make the highlight plays that make him such an intriguing prospect. Garrison credits Pope for instilling that in him.

“He helped me build that confidence and I just feel like you got to have confidence when you’re out there on the floor,” Garrison said. “You can’t overthink stuff, and if you do, stuff’s not going to go your way. Just having the confidence on the floor will help you out.”

Garrison said when he originally came to Kentucky, he and Pope cooked up a two-year plan — there would be no rushing his development. Year one had some ups and downs, but it showed more than enough potential to believe another leap is coming in year two. The confidence is clearly there, now it’s about putting in the offseason work and letting loose on the hardwood in the fall.

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