Hello HOB. Back on duty tonight for the Mark Pope weekly radio show tonight. I'll share all the major talking points here in this thread for those of you who may not get to listen along.
* Fun game last night. Even better when there's some adversity and doubt and you come out with a great result. No place better than Kentucky to make that happen.
* Pope says they always have a period after the game ends where it's just the players talking amongst themselves for a few minutes before the coaches come in to talk. Last night, it went on much longer than it usually does, and it was Jaxson Robinson taking the lead. He was the guy after the Vandy loss who said this is not good enough and we have to do better. Talked about the difference in their effort last night. Adds that two years ago, Jaxson would have never done that. He's growing. It's the best feeling as a coach to watch that growth into an extraordinary leader.
* Pope asks, "Is this Mountain Mamba a real thing?" (laughs) "I love it. Fantastic." Re: freshman wing Trent Noah.
* Caller asks about turnovers... Pope says they're one of the best ball protection teams in the country, at one point they were No. 1, but they've slipped a little bit in league play because they're playing against teams like Tennessee. Almost every night, it's a team that's in the Top 30 nationally for forcing turnovers. But he concedes that, in the games they lose, they're usually upside down on A:TO ratio.
* Injuries stink, but it's also fun to mix and match and give other people opportunities, Pope says. It forces you to develop some things that maybe you weren't thinking about earlier. You can't practice quite as hard, though. You have to temper some of the stuff you've been doing. Oweh is a little sore from that spill he took last night.
* As of today, Lamont Butler is not good to go tonight. They'll check on him again in the morning and see how he feels.
* Pope praises Calipari's legacy and the things he did while he was at UK. Said he revolutionized the game in a lot of ways. Loves him. On a personal level, he's been great to him and his wife, but he recognizes that it's a complicated thing right now with the fans. On Saturday, it's a competition, so it is what it is.
* Cutting and movement off the ball was a big thing last night. We weren't super-creative, but we were very determined and committed to it. Relentless. The seeds were there last night for some great things moving forward. Made it difficult to guard us.
* Incredible effort by Amari Williams on his birthday. Won't jump out at you like a 50-point performance, but it was huge from the standpoint of everything he did to help us win. I don't think there's another player in college basketball who can do what he did last night.
* Caller asks about what they do if Lamont Butler isn't able to go Saturday... "The answer is all hands on deck," Pope says. It would be similar to the approach at Tennessee.
* Koby Brea had his best downhill penetration by far last night.
* Listener asks about how much weight he puts on the +/- column... Pope says it's a tool, but a pretty "broad brush." Sometimes you need some context. Runs can swing it a lot. "Leverage" is another analytic that they use more. It compares your impact to the average college player and is weighted by your opponent. It can help give you a more complete picture of that time on the court.
* Listener wants to know if Perry might be used off the ball a bit more... Pope agrees, says it's possible you could see some of that.
* Collin Chandler gave them his best game of the year last night, Pope says. "Lights out. Super-active." Had a great "championship chest" against No. 4 and Lanier on a couple of plays. He can really help us defensively with his athleticism, something we really need right now.
* Caller asks about the end-of-half issues.... Rebounding was a big factor in that the last two games. Missing Lamont last night and having him playing in so much pain at Vandy was an issue.... We have to grow and get better in that aspect. We're definitely paying attention to it.
* Listener wants to know if they can find a way to play Andrew and Ansley together when Carr is able to play at full healthy. Pope says you could see that at times. They may need to zone in some combos like that, depending on the opponent.
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