In his sophomore year Mercer led one of the top conferences in the nation, the SEC in scoring, averaging 18.1 ppg. During the SEC Tournament he averaged 20.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, shooting .575 from the field. In NCAA Tournament play, he averaged 16.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, including 21 points in the West Regional final win over Utah. He scored a career-high 30 points (13-of-16 from the field) vs. Purdue, one game after his first double-double (22 points, 13 rebounds) against Ohio State. A year earlier, Mercer became only the third true freshman to start his first collegiate game under Pitino and started 12 of 36 games in Kentucky's 1995-96 national championship season. After only 2 years at the University of Kentucky he decided to test the NBA waters and enter the NBA draft.

Season Notes:

1995-96: All-NCAA Final Four Team; All-SEC Freshman Team
1996-97: Consensus All American; All-NCAA Final Four Team; NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player; SEC Player of the Year; First Team All-SEC; SEC Tournament MVP