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Basketball ***** Mark Pope Show News & Notes - March 31 *****

* Pope says he's really proud of the team. Didn't quite get to the finish line, but really represented UK well. A beautiful relationship between the players and fans. That's the way it's supposed to be.

* Guys were devastated after the game. A ton of tears, a ton of emotions. Nobody wanted it to end. Guys were in the hotel room telling stories and hanging out until about 6 in the morning.

* The portal is "sheer chaos" right now, Pope says... More changes coming soon that should cut into some of the uncertainty of how things will work in the future. We're having daily conversations with several players. Good way to filter who is really dying to be here.

* LOL... First listener wants to know what the timetable is for getting back in the Maui Invitational. Pope says nobody wants to go back more than him, but that's down the list of priorities right now. Won't be next year. Gotta work thru some in-house scheduling issues before they can go back. "Pam, when that happens, you and I will be the two happiest people in the room."

* Second question is about a barnstorming tour... Pope says he thinks that should happen immediately after No. 9.

* Listener wants to know if there will be a GM for UK Basketball... Pope says it's a calculated decision that comes with a lot of issues. Right now, they're dividing those duties among people who are already in-house. There could be a brand new trajectory and mindset to that after Congress provides more clarity on what the world of college athletics will look like. April 7 is when the judge will hear the final arguments and prepare a decision. Pope says this judge has rarely done it on the day of the hearing. She's someone who typically takes a week to 10 days. There's no timeline.

* On portal needs... Says he's hesitant to get into it, given the rules on what he's allowed to say.

* Caller asks about them coming up just short... Pope says these 10 days are the hardest of the year for him and the players.

* Caller gets emotional. Says he's a girl dad, too, and that his family hasn't quite been the same since Covid and all the division that's going on in our country now politically. Tells Pope that changed this season with UK Basketball. Gave them a chance to bond again and share in something joyous.

* Caller wants to know what a sophomore Trent Noah will look like... Pope says they met for a long time yesterday. He is special. Thinks he'll be about 18 pounds heavier next year, muscle that will help him punish people. He's gonna be a tremendous player. Made incredible strides this year, adjusting to speed of the college game. It was shocking to him at first, but every day he kept feeling more and more like he belonged. Incredible transformation with the stakes being so high.

* Caller says he wishes it was anybody but Tennessee with that 2 seed, they were just too motivated for revenge, and it showed that they had nothing left for Houston... Pope says he liked the draw they got a lot, even liked that they were playing Tennessee a third time. They were just better than us Friday night. But it was hard to swallow.

* Caller wants to know when he thinks the roster will be finished for next season... Pope says it's so early, so many guys making decisions every day. It's going to be dynamic for some time. I don't know when it will be finished. Could also be guys going thru the draft process who decide to stay in college and become available really late. We just have to stay on it every single day as a staff.

* Caller wants to know what changes they may make to their roster approach after Year 1... Pope says you have to treat every day, every season as a learning process. They're currently in the process of doing an "autopsy" on this season and whether they think they need to adjust the roster build. Thinks they got a lot of it right this year, but there could be some areas that need adjusted.

* Listener wants to know if they need to boost their physicality for next year's team... Pope says, yes. They were No. 2 in the SEC in defensive rebounding this season, then some things kind of showed up in the loss to Tennessee that shows they need more physicality. Maybe I should work with Coach Stoops on that.

* Listener wants to know which of the outgoing guys could be a good coach... Pope says he could see several of them being that. They may not be thinking that way right now, but I could see Lamont or Andrew or Koby or Ansley being a great coach. They need to go enjoy their pro careers and continue to play while they can, but I'll be interested to see if any of them want to coach someday.

* Caller wants to know if he's going after Big Z in the portal... Pope says he can't talk about recruits or he'll get fired. Ha.

* Listener wants to know what's being emphasized in building a new roster.... Character, No. 1. Shooting. Then decision making, motor. Learning that you need length and physicality in this league.

* Closes by saying thank you, BBN. You're the guys who make this so special. People have been kind and gracious while also being appropriately demanding of the standards this program has.

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Everyone Be Careful Tonight, Bad Storms Shooting Through Kentuckiana.

A possible tornado came through my neighborhood in Hillview.
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My old shed in my neighbor's yard.
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Tree that fell from my neighbor's yard. Couldn't get it to focus with the rain coming down.
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Luckily it only damaged some gutters and crushed an SUV in the driveway between the houses and didn't land on the houses (couldn't get a good picture from the rain of the car). My 5 month old roof is leaking around the furnace vent pipe. So have to figure that out. Not sure if I am responsible for the shed. It took out her pool filter and pump on the ground. Could have been worse.

My mom about a mile away had her privacy fence that was built a year ago get torn down in places and her neighbor's trampoline is laying over top of her fence. Just heard more possibly coming Wednesday.

BB Recruiting Foreign Update

Continue to hear UK connected with Hannes Steinbach, a name I mentioned here last month. Good looking prospect that I’m a huge fan of.

A new name I heard UK (and others) connected with is Mario Saint-Supery. The same person also told me he expects MSS to stay in Spain, but there’s been connections between the two parties.

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Pope on adversity and opportunity

This Youtube short popped up in my feed, I hadn't seen it before. Looks like Pope was presenting at some coaching clinic. He's talking about how a challenge can become an opportunity, fairly standard motivational advice. But he mentions a couple recruiting "snafus" his staff experienced recently (vid appears to have been posted in Oct 2024). Wonder what he could be talking about.

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BB Recruiting Vyctorius Miller article


My goal was to be put this up Sunday night, but I had waited to hear some details from his father. Still waiting, but I went ahead and ran with it. I'll put up more as I hear it.

Do you expect a significant number of players to enter the portal late?

If so, why (e.g., the NBA draft, negotiating with his current team, etc.)? Will those who declare for the draft and then withdraw enter late, or do most now usually enter the portal and the draft at basically the same time? Are you afraid UK will miss out on an All-American/AA Honorable mention type by filling up their spots too quickly?
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For those questioning Mark Pope

I get the passion of BBN but questioning / doubting Mark Pope makes zero sense. Some of these posts aren’t giving him near enough credit. He was a Rhodes Scholar candidate, a three year med student, captain of arguably one of the best NCAA Championship teams in history, and played for one of the brightest, toughest college coaches of all time (bad human, great coach). You don’t have to like Mark Pope but to question his pedigree and ability to coach is silly. We have things to do to get ready for next year but the guy driving the boat is as capable as anyone in the business.

Kentucky beat two number 1 seeds...

Just pointing that out. Not making too much of it. Without looking it up, other SEC teams probably did the same by beating Florida and Auburn, though no one else beat Duke and Florida, and no one else who beat Duke beat any of the other 3.

I do think it says that when completely healthy, and even sometimes when not (like the Florida game) Kentucky wasn't that far off where you need to be to reach the Final Four. If Robinson isn't hurt, if Butler isn't hurt, if Carr isn't hurt I think Kentucky likely makes it one more round, to the Elite Eight.

I agree with the consensus that Kentucky needs to be more athletic, taller and quicker on defense to be a Final Four team. I feel pretty good Pope will be able to close that gap in the next couple weeks. I'm not going to wring my hands over every "portal miss." Indiana, Kansas and others had much higher rated "portal gets" than Kentucky overall in 2024...
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