It all starts with our Coach

[ORCAT10]

Hostile atmosphere.
Crazy 6 point plays.
But this team is a poised and confident reflection of our Coach.
Praying he’s here for 20 years.

 

[UK67KU59]

What a wild game 🥴

When they retook the lead I thought we were in trouble but Almonor had other ideas.

 

[wildcat_nation28]

yeah it was a good game but shouldn't have let then get back into the game up 14 no timeout when they was on their run

 

[Bigblueincincy]

I love how Pope handles his self. Never degrades his players and keeps their heads up. Totally different from the last coach.

 

[Bill - Shy Cat]

Hostile atmosphere.
Crazy 6 point plays.
But this team is a poised and confident reflection of our Coach.
Praying he’s here for 20 years.

Cal nutsack holders are not gonna like your Pope praise. 🤣

 

[otis-gip]

Pope’s positive attitude will pay off. This team will improve their defense and rebounding because they like the coach, each other and the college game. They have a lot to work on but they do play together and don’t have huge egos.

 

[bnewt]

I love how Pope handles his self. Never degrades his players and keeps their heads up. Totally different from the last coach.

"Coach" is the key word

 

[jwphelps]

Hostile atmosphere.
Crazy 6 point plays.
But this team is a poised and confident reflection of our Coach.
Praying he’s here for 20 years.

I agree with you, he takes control doesn't lose control.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

Pope’s steadiness is one of his greatest assets.

He’s the calm in the center of the storm.

That will pay dividends over time. 👍

 

[ukwazoo]

I love Pope so far, but did not like letting them go on a 12-0 run before calling a TO. But love him for bouncing back and getting us the W. Stayed with Almonor, the hot hand, at the end.

 

[Kyhoward]

Great effort!
Jax was great. Andrew played outstanding given his back was hurting. Ansley was spectacular and hit the big 3’s late in the game! As ORCAT stated poised and confident. I was losing my mind but these guys played the next play which CMP has stressed.

Bad - turnovers and guarding the 3 - point shot. I believe they had 2 - 4 point plays, albeit one was a terrible call on Travis. Refs are calling the 3 point shooters flopping, so we must jump vertically not run at the shooter.
Another concern is our lack of offensive rebounding. We tend to retreat as the ball is shot, need 2-3 guys stepping towards the basket and some will find our guys hands.

Great win despite the obstacles we faced. Ainsley coming alive should boost his confidence and provides depth and rest for Andrew.

 

[yoshukai]

Cal nutsack holders are not gonna like your Pope praise. 🤣

Pretty sure one has already responded, lol .

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Agreed. Pope is an A-grade right now on the year for me. No coach since Pitino was winning this game. And even that wasn't a guarantee.

 

[otis-gip]

Williams made a really poor pass that resulted in a turnover. The camera was on Coach Pope and you could read his lips. He was saying “next play- next play”. Most coaches yank guys for bad plays and would have subbed Williams out. I think it takes a higher level coach to live with a few mistakes. But I think it is one of the reasons this team has been able to make some comebacks and play through some bad stretches of tight games.

 

[Blueworld_3.0]

I like where the program is right now with the cobbled together group of guys we have. But, we do need to somehow play better defense. I think CMP would be the first to agree with that. Maybe it will come or maybe we are just limited on defense?
This win should give a lot of guys confidence that they can play and win in a tough SEC road environment. This conference is brutal and a road win feels like it should count for more. Good stuff by the players, staff and team as a whole. Take the tough win, build on it and press on!