Staff.. Couple guys that will finilize in the next few days.
Recruiting. No real new info. All options will be used. Portal and recruiting freshmen... Looking for players that fit not just raw talent. Still looking at a few players that have been "floating around the program"
Joked about having a workout contest with Rock Oliver, last one standing gets Courtside seats for Arkansas game. Said it could be a NIL thing.
Talked about Reed going in top 4-7. Said that's rare air. Said it's a rare space. Talked to Jeff and Stacey and said he would be praying Reed would come back.
Talked about how practices at BYU, after the drills/practice was over. Assistants where not allowed to talk. Said the players held each other accountable.
Offense scheme is top secret..... Followed by laughing. Game away from the ball is putting 2 - 3 players in motion. Great cutters to create space (and get paid). Heavy pace in transition. Force people to guard the whole court. (27x50)
Break... Defense next
Defense approach.... Looks for little spaces in the game to change it up. He calls them punches. It's a drastically diffrent look to throw the other team off. High risk, high reward. Charts how they can keep teams off balance. Leach mentions how Pitino used to chart everything on defense. Pope tells story about how hard Pitino was about defense. Using the whole timeout to yell. Talked about his time with Larry Bird, and how he did his timeouts...Both Bird and Pitino had a knack of breaking down the defense to the most basic detail and focus on a few things. He plans to using scouting reports to focus on key parts.
Not a huge fan of the denim Converse shoes.
Break
Pope on L's down.... Going to keep his mouth closed as he laughs.
Fouling up 3 late in a game. Went to Kenpom. Thinks the data is super neutral. To many factors to give a one size fits all answer.
How he use analytics. Says he uses it because he is not really smart. Laughing. Will use it to help. Not as many games in college to make the numbers work as well as they can in the NBA. The dynamics of college game from start of the year to the end with freshmen makes it hard to use.
Speaking about Coach Rose....
Speaking about Pitino...Most Demanding person he has ever been around. Forced him to raise to meet the level. Gave them unwavering belive that they could do anything. Fearless.
Break
Returning players and recruits... It's been fun. Enjoy the conversations. Building relationships. Does not want to trick kids to come. Wants kids that want to wear the uniform. His phone is blowing up on kids wanting to come. Wants to find the right guys...... No Info on current players.
So you use analytics on recruiting... Yes. He does.
Talking about Mr. Wildcat... Said he would have been happy and crying. Said he was a dear friend.
Advice from former teammates.... Win..... Just win!!!
End of show.
Did the best I could... Lol
