* March is here, you have to defend and get stops, and he's happy the Cats are buying into what they've been preaching on that end of the floor. Notes that Cats have moved into the 50s in dEff after being well above 100 earlier this season.
* Doing scouts on both Oklahoma and Georgia right now. Getting the 6 seed was important to get an extra day of prep in for both of them.
* Caller asks about officiating he's seen this season... Pope says one thing he noted and pointed out to the referees in the league is it seemed like coaches who complained and got on them non-stop were rewarded with calls, and that's not something that he wants to do. Reiterated that he thinks officiating is an incredibly difficult job, but he just wants to work together with them to make the game better. "It doesn't have to be adversarial."
* Caller wants to know about Kerr Kriisa... Said they had a quiet moment recently where it really sank in that he's not going to be able to play again this year. That's been tough for him.
* Caller asks about black uniforms... He doesn't think they'll work their way into the postseason rotation, but notes that they're "fire."
* Tom asks about Oweh making coaches' All-SEC team... Pope says well-earned for such a great season, but felt like they had other guys who deserved it as well. Said Amari Williams had a "historic" season by the analytics.
* Caller asks what he's learned in first year on the job... Learning the league, getting to know the venues again. Things you need to do on OB under basket plays in this league where so many coaches have great stuff down there. How to deal with great guards who can go get their own offense.
* On Oweh in second halves... He's been tremendous all season long. His defensive focus the last 6-7 games has been ridiculous. What he and Chandler did on Grill in the Mizzou game was special, as good as anyone in the country has done against him.
* Caller wants to know "When do you sleep?" (laughs) ... Pope says the performance team got this new apparatus that has a zero-gravity feature, and he actually got to take a little power nap in it before practice.
* We're going to win. That's why we're going down there. Doesn't mean it's going to automatically happen, but that is the reason we're going down there.
* Caller asks if they will use a platoon system... Pope says no, they're pretty comfortable with the rotations they have and the personnel packages that are working well together now.
* Doing scouts on both Oklahoma and Georgia right now. Getting the 6 seed was important to get an extra day of prep in for both of them.
* Caller asks about officiating he's seen this season... Pope says one thing he noted and pointed out to the referees in the league is it seemed like coaches who complained and got on them non-stop were rewarded with calls, and that's not something that he wants to do. Reiterated that he thinks officiating is an incredibly difficult job, but he just wants to work together with them to make the game better. "It doesn't have to be adversarial."
* Caller wants to know about Kerr Kriisa... Said they had a quiet moment recently where it really sank in that he's not going to be able to play again this year. That's been tough for him.
* Caller asks about black uniforms... He doesn't think they'll work their way into the postseason rotation, but notes that they're "fire."
* Tom asks about Oweh making coaches' All-SEC team... Pope says well-earned for such a great season, but felt like they had other guys who deserved it as well. Said Amari Williams had a "historic" season by the analytics.
* Caller asks what he's learned in first year on the job... Learning the league, getting to know the venues again. Things you need to do on OB under basket plays in this league where so many coaches have great stuff down there. How to deal with great guards who can go get their own offense.
* On Oweh in second halves... He's been tremendous all season long. His defensive focus the last 6-7 games has been ridiculous. What he and Chandler did on Grill in the Mizzou game was special, as good as anyone in the country has done against him.
* Caller wants to know "When do you sleep?" (laughs) ... Pope says the performance team got this new apparatus that has a zero-gravity feature, and he actually got to take a little power nap in it before practice.
* We're going to win. That's why we're going down there. Doesn't mean it's going to automatically happen, but that is the reason we're going down there.
* Caller asks if they will use a platoon system... Pope says no, they're pretty comfortable with the rotations they have and the personnel packages that are working well together now.
