* Texas’ Tre Johnson is a guy who will take hard shots, make hard shots.
* Longhorns are really well-rounded team. They’re something like 30 offensively and 40 defensively. They have complementary pieces. Really well-constructed roster that plays well together.
* LOL…Pope is asked what he thinks about the conference being .500 since conference play started. (Becoming a national meme after it’s been repeated by a couple folks.) Immediately goes into Leslie Nielsen deadpan mode. “Really disappointed in the league. Looks at the other coaches and says, “Guys, we’ve got to pick this up.”
* On Lamont Butler’s status… It was not feeling great after that spill in the Tennessee game. Going day by day, trying to piece things together.
* On Jaxson Robinson’s status… Got a third opinion yesterday. Like Lamont, there’s some guesswork to it regarding the timing and treatment, but the guys are desperate to play. It’s sad that they’ve worked their whole life to be in this position, and there are things beyond their control happening.
* Asked if Jaxson made things worse playing last Saturday, Pope said he didn’t think so, just knew it wasn’t right when he was out there.
* On Perry, Noah, and Chandler… It’s their time to step up. I have a lot of confidence in those guys. They were all spectacular on Tuesday.
* The most unsettling thing for a coach when you have roster shake-up is reinventing what you’re doing and having to do it against all these variables of who we play against. You also have the situation where one guy being out maybe forces everyone else to play a different position. It’s hard, but it’s also fun.
* On Ansley Almonor… Did not know him at all before getting to UK. Matt Santoro may have brought him to my attention. Wasn’t one of those super-high ranked guys that everyone knew about, but he was a “Moneyball” type of guy who had three really high datapoints on the chart. Then watched some film and saw a creative vibe as a scorer and cutter. Had a knack for finding open space. Played on that team that beat Purdue in the first round, so he had experience in big games.
* On defensive improving… Numbers were way up for SC and UT. Had some of the best defensive performances against both of those teams. Guys have stepped up to make that possible. Koby Brea much better. Bigs much better. Overall pressure on the ball much better, which has to continue if we’re without Lamont on Saturday.
* On Brea’s defensive improvement coinciding with his willingness to attack on offense more… Sometimes the moment just takes over. I think he knew he had to step up. Got knocked across the head at Ole Miss (figuratively)and knew he had to pick it up. Seniors can be magical like this. I’ve seen it before. Maybe he’s in that space right now.
