Hello HOB. I'll be following along with the CMP Show tonight and sharing all the main talking points here on the HOB for those of you who may not be able to listen along live. Show is underway here at 7 ET. Stay tuned...
* Our ceiling is so much higher than what we showed at Clemson, but really happy with the core competitiveness we displayed.
* The physicality Clemson had really impacted the game, and the way the game is called now (which is way better, by the way) allowed them to use some of that physicality to their advantage. They're long, big-chested, and well-coached in maintaining verticality. Sometimes it leads to you taking fool's gold at the rim and having a tougher shot than you thought you had.
* Asked how you improve at the FT line... Practice, reps, and concentration. Sports psychology is a crucial part of what we do, and we'll lean into that as well.
* On the halfcourt offense stalling with the big men at times... Great question, Pope says. They may have gone to that iso a bit too much, and guys were stagnant when they went to that set, so it wasn't always the big man. We played into the hands of their defensive approach. Our bigs didn't make great decisions, and the other four guys stopped moving on them a lot. That's a fundamental DNA piece of our system, so we have to get it right. Going smaller is another counter you can use in those situations, but I was a little gunshy of that because we got blasted on the glass in the first half. There may not have been a good answer to that last night. Ultimately, we lost, so I was wrong.
* On Koby Brea not being on the floor at the end of the game... He's growing as a defensive player and all-around player, but we had a couple of issues early in the game and started rolling with a different group with Lamont coming in and out. Felt like we needed Otega out there more at times. Had considered maybe using Jaxson Robinson at the point, which he has done before in the past, maybe that could have opened another opportunity for Koby. Second-guessing some of the decisions he had to make in that one.
* Asked what Kerr Kriisa has to learn from last night's game, Pope says he's a vet, he's seen it all. He will learn and grow from it. He's such a key to our pace in the game, such a creator. In somewhat limited minutes, he's our leading assist guy. He was good defensively in certain moments during the game.
* Cats had an extended film session today to refresh why they're doing things a certain way and how to approach it under duress. Guys remain curious and hungry to get better, to keep chasing that high ceiling.
* Caller wants to know if the over/under on the ice cream he bought for fans at Rupp Arena was $2,000.... Oooooooover Pope says with a laugh. "But it was worth it."
* Asked if we're going to see any press like he did when he played in the 90s, Pope said you'll see it in spots, just not a steady diet of it like they did in 1996. Says it's not within his capacity to coach it the way Coach P did.
* Our guys were really torn up last night, Pope said. They know the expectations, and it's brutal to lose. Our guys felt it.
* Asked about how hard it is to get so many new guys together trusting each other... Pope says you have to re-route a lot of habits from the past. You have to learn how to function in a new way when you face adversity, trust what you're doing now, the guys around you now. Sometimes that growth process can be painful. It was last night.
* Pope says he's changed a lot over the last 10 years in terms of how he coaches. He originally copied a lot of the things his old coaches did. Wasn't always working out for him or his players. Started taking a more positivity approach, a laser-focus of what we're trying to do. It has functioned well for our team so far.
* Asked about pressing again, Pope says we're kinda lemmings in the basketball world, and right now not many are interested in pressing. But someone might figure it out again and cause a revolution. But he's skeptical because (A) the skill level has changed tremendously in handling the ball, passing, shooting; and (B) officials won't allow what the did back in the 90s. Also noted that a lot of teams would just pull up for 3 now instead of playing into your plan of making them take it to the rim if they beat the pressure.
* Gonzaga is another big challenge for us. We're looking forward to another opportunity to get out there and compete.
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