Hello HOB. I'll be following along with the coach's weekly radio call-in show once again tonight and sharing the major talking points for those of you who may not be able to listen along live. Show starts at 6 ET. Stay tuned...
* Such a fun environment at Mississippi State, Pope says. Really fun to see the guys rise up and meet the challenge. As well as we played, we still have so much room for growth. Probably our best night for getting to a second and third side in the offense.
* Pope says he wants Cats to continue being one of the best ball-protection teams in the country. Have been 1 or 2. Important to keep doing that well. We don't talk so much about turnovers, just doing the things right with the ball (catch, gaps, 50/50 balls) that keep turnovers low.
* Jaxson Robinson had been thinking too much about his future and worrying that he was coming up short instead of staying in the now and letting his talent take over. A lot of us waste too much brain power invested in worrying about the future instead of being in the present and dialed-in to right now. You saw a kid at Mississippi State just dialed in and playing.
* How fun was Ansley Almonor in the last 10 minutes of that game, Pope asks. "A unique soul" with a lot of confidence. Clearly, we don't win without him stepping up like that. Really special. A year ago, he never would have dreamed he was in a Top 25 game and just raining down 3s for the winning team.
* Pope says they had "a little fashion show of sorts" today with some alternative uniforms we could possibly break out this season.
* Caller says he wants to apologize for criticizing him as the hire the day it was announced, that he's 100% sure now UK got the right man for the job. Pope jokes, "I was just as upset as you! How could they hire HIM???"
* Caller asks about the press. (This has become a weekly call, lol.) Pope says it could be a tool to speed some opponents up who want to play slow-down basketball against them. We're very comfortable playing at a frantic pace because we practice that way all the time. When people slow it down, it just saps the energy from the game, and we have to find ways to address it.
* Texas A&M is the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the entire country. They had 23 against Alabama on Saturday. Big area of emphasis for the Cats on Tuesday.
* Caller talks about how much energy it brings to the games when Travis Perry or Trent Noah get into the games. Pope says having two guys to represent the state like they do is really special. Loved seeing Perry get that offensive rebound and banging the 3 at Mississippi State. Really growing into that role. Continues to say Noah will be special in time.
* Update on Kerr Kriisa... Out of the boot for segments of the day, which has lifted his spirits a bit. Some new rehab starts here the next couple of weeks. It all depends on how quickly he can progress.
* Listener wants to know if that was their best "cuts" game. Pope says yes. Off-ball cuts were really impressive against an aggressive rotating defense like that. Playing another similar defense on Tuesday against Texas A&M. We need another elite cutting game to win that one.
* Caller asks what he likes most about his team and what needs to improve the most from here on out... Likes his team the most, how they support each other. Great young men. Great character. I like starting with that foundation. I like the decision-making ability. I like the shooting ability. We have guys who are hungry to get better. Things we are working on... We need to become a great rebounding team on both ends of the court. It might be the most important thing for us. Defensively, need to keep getting better at guarding multiple actions. Sometimes we have a guy who does a good job on the first action but may break down on the second or third. Would like to be more disruptive on that end of the floor.
* Caller asks about how Mississippi State got so hot from 3 in that game... Pope says they tried to mix things up and tried to take away the biggest threats, and that created some mixed results with guys who shot it better than they usually do. One guy even banked one in. Notes that they are typically one of the best 3-point defending teams in the country. A big part of defending the 3 these days, a lot of times, is getting the guy you want to shoot them shoot them.
* Listener wants to know if Andrew Carr will be able to handle a physical matchup like Texas A&M. Noted that he missed practice today. Just doing some ongoing rehab stuff. Trying to manage his situation and not make it worse. Expect him to probably play, but maybe a gametime decision.
* Such a fun environment at Mississippi State, Pope says. Really fun to see the guys rise up and meet the challenge. As well as we played, we still have so much room for growth. Probably our best night for getting to a second and third side in the offense.
* Pope says he wants Cats to continue being one of the best ball-protection teams in the country. Have been 1 or 2. Important to keep doing that well. We don't talk so much about turnovers, just doing the things right with the ball (catch, gaps, 50/50 balls) that keep turnovers low.
* Jaxson Robinson had been thinking too much about his future and worrying that he was coming up short instead of staying in the now and letting his talent take over. A lot of us waste too much brain power invested in worrying about the future instead of being in the present and dialed-in to right now. You saw a kid at Mississippi State just dialed in and playing.
* How fun was Ansley Almonor in the last 10 minutes of that game, Pope asks. "A unique soul" with a lot of confidence. Clearly, we don't win without him stepping up like that. Really special. A year ago, he never would have dreamed he was in a Top 25 game and just raining down 3s for the winning team.
* Pope says they had "a little fashion show of sorts" today with some alternative uniforms we could possibly break out this season.
* Caller says he wants to apologize for criticizing him as the hire the day it was announced, that he's 100% sure now UK got the right man for the job. Pope jokes, "I was just as upset as you! How could they hire HIM???"
* Caller asks about the press. (This has become a weekly call, lol.) Pope says it could be a tool to speed some opponents up who want to play slow-down basketball against them. We're very comfortable playing at a frantic pace because we practice that way all the time. When people slow it down, it just saps the energy from the game, and we have to find ways to address it.
* Texas A&M is the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in the entire country. They had 23 against Alabama on Saturday. Big area of emphasis for the Cats on Tuesday.
* Caller talks about how much energy it brings to the games when Travis Perry or Trent Noah get into the games. Pope says having two guys to represent the state like they do is really special. Loved seeing Perry get that offensive rebound and banging the 3 at Mississippi State. Really growing into that role. Continues to say Noah will be special in time.
* Update on Kerr Kriisa... Out of the boot for segments of the day, which has lifted his spirits a bit. Some new rehab starts here the next couple of weeks. It all depends on how quickly he can progress.
* Listener wants to know if that was their best "cuts" game. Pope says yes. Off-ball cuts were really impressive against an aggressive rotating defense like that. Playing another similar defense on Tuesday against Texas A&M. We need another elite cutting game to win that one.
* Caller asks what he likes most about his team and what needs to improve the most from here on out... Likes his team the most, how they support each other. Great young men. Great character. I like starting with that foundation. I like the decision-making ability. I like the shooting ability. We have guys who are hungry to get better. Things we are working on... We need to become a great rebounding team on both ends of the court. It might be the most important thing for us. Defensively, need to keep getting better at guarding multiple actions. Sometimes we have a guy who does a good job on the first action but may break down on the second or third. Would like to be more disruptive on that end of the floor.
* Caller asks about how Mississippi State got so hot from 3 in that game... Pope says they tried to mix things up and tried to take away the biggest threats, and that created some mixed results with guys who shot it better than they usually do. One guy even banked one in. Notes that they are typically one of the best 3-point defending teams in the country. A big part of defending the 3 these days, a lot of times, is getting the guy you want to shoot them shoot them.
* Listener wants to know if Andrew Carr will be able to handle a physical matchup like Texas A&M. Noted that he missed practice today. Just doing some ongoing rehab stuff. Trying to manage his situation and not make it worse. Expect him to probably play, but maybe a gametime decision.
