* Good to get back on the court, back to work after a nice holiday break for everyone with their families. Excited to play against a good Brown team on Tuesday at Rupp.
* Dialed in on several areas in practice after the "Ohio State debacle." Ball-screen defense was a big one. Made some huge growth with that one. Team is really excited to get back on the court and get better.
* Brown is really good. They have an incredibly explosive combo guard who's known as "Ivy League Iverson." Really dangerous. Will shoot it from anywhere. Good off the bounce. A special talent. You don't see this in the Ivy League a lot, but they are No. 11 nationally in blocked shots.
* Listener asks about FTs... Pope says they do a lot of work on those, both in practice and individual instruction. They get a lot of shots up. Sometimes it depends on a player to get even more up.
* Listener asks who gave him the hardest time in practice when he played at UK... Pope says there were so many. What made that team so incredible was the second team beat the first team a lot. Rick Pitino may have been the toughest guy in practice, just meeting his expectations.
* Listener asks about ball-screen hand-offs... Combination of a lot of things affecting it. We actually have a big upside there.
* Kerr Kriisa working hard in rehab, getting better. Not sure about his timetable, though.
* Caller asks if Brandon Garrison will be playing more with the "quicker team." Pope says his ceiling is so high. Fun to see how he fits into all this over time. Says it's nothing serious, but not 100% healthy right now. Just something we have to monitor.
* Caller asks about the current Wildcat logo and disdain for it. Pope notes that the crowd where they are tonight reacted to that comment more than any other that has been made tonight. (Ha) Also said he loves the Wildcat logo they had when he was playing. Says he'll defer to the people signing his paycheck, but he loves that old logo.
* A few extra practices during the break. Got to do some two-a-days, which are a nice way to really work on some things. "A wonderful, functional week."
* Caller asks who was the toughest guy Mark Pope had to guard when he was at UK... Pope says take your pick between Antoine Walker, "a bear with incredible core strength," and Walter McCarty was a real challenge because of how he played and how well he ran the floor. Pope took a lot of pride in being the best running big guy, and Walter McCarty beat him in some team testing runs on the mile.
* Listener asks if there will be more full- or half-court pressure when SEC play begins... Pope says yes, at times, but notes it's a little trickier with Kerr being out.
* Caller asks about the 5 man in the offense... Pope says it's essential that guy has to be an initiator and a good passer. Noted that Garrison hit a game-winning 3 in their scrimmage yesterday. A lot better shooter than people realize.
* Caller wants to know if they need to be taking more 3s.... Pope says he's "desperate for our guys to shoot some more." When we EARN then, we have to shoot them. When we are playing at an elite level, we earn those 3s. Thirty is an arbitrary marker, but there is some science behind it, Pope adds.
* Dialed in on several areas in practice after the "Ohio State debacle." Ball-screen defense was a big one. Made some huge growth with that one. Team is really excited to get back on the court and get better.
* Brown is really good. They have an incredibly explosive combo guard who's known as "Ivy League Iverson." Really dangerous. Will shoot it from anywhere. Good off the bounce. A special talent. You don't see this in the Ivy League a lot, but they are No. 11 nationally in blocked shots.
* Listener asks about FTs... Pope says they do a lot of work on those, both in practice and individual instruction. They get a lot of shots up. Sometimes it depends on a player to get even more up.
* Listener asks who gave him the hardest time in practice when he played at UK... Pope says there were so many. What made that team so incredible was the second team beat the first team a lot. Rick Pitino may have been the toughest guy in practice, just meeting his expectations.
* Listener asks about ball-screen hand-offs... Combination of a lot of things affecting it. We actually have a big upside there.
* Kerr Kriisa working hard in rehab, getting better. Not sure about his timetable, though.
* Caller asks if Brandon Garrison will be playing more with the "quicker team." Pope says his ceiling is so high. Fun to see how he fits into all this over time. Says it's nothing serious, but not 100% healthy right now. Just something we have to monitor.
* Caller asks about the current Wildcat logo and disdain for it. Pope notes that the crowd where they are tonight reacted to that comment more than any other that has been made tonight. (Ha) Also said he loves the Wildcat logo they had when he was playing. Says he'll defer to the people signing his paycheck, but he loves that old logo.
* A few extra practices during the break. Got to do some two-a-days, which are a nice way to really work on some things. "A wonderful, functional week."
* Caller asks who was the toughest guy Mark Pope had to guard when he was at UK... Pope says take your pick between Antoine Walker, "a bear with incredible core strength," and Walter McCarty was a real challenge because of how he played and how well he ran the floor. Pope took a lot of pride in being the best running big guy, and Walter McCarty beat him in some team testing runs on the mile.
* Listener asks if there will be more full- or half-court pressure when SEC play begins... Pope says yes, at times, but notes it's a little trickier with Kerr being out.
* Caller asks about the 5 man in the offense... Pope says it's essential that guy has to be an initiator and a good passer. Noted that Garrison hit a game-winning 3 in their scrimmage yesterday. A lot better shooter than people realize.
* Caller wants to know if they need to be taking more 3s.... Pope says he's "desperate for our guys to shoot some more." When we EARN then, we have to shoot them. When we are playing at an elite level, we earn those 3s. Thirty is an arbitrary marker, but there is some science behind it, Pope adds.
