Pope yelling and screaming at the refs won't change anything. It's not a weakness.
One Pope weakness I see
- Thread starter the nail at the foul line
- Start date
I agree with this.
The issue is, Pope didn't just try to steal 2 or 3 minutes with unconventional line-ups, he stayed with really bad lineups for too long.
I understand you wanted us to have other players available so we could match up differently and run better lineups, but we only had four guards available for last night's game. At least two had to be in there at all times, and we'd just played less than 24 hours ago.
Brea played 33+ minutes.
Oweh had to leave the game for a significant period because he was injured and was less effective when he returned.
That leaves Perry and Chandler.
Chandler had three fouls and three turnovers in 17+ minutes.
We did not have other options.
You can ignore it or die on whatever hill you want. It doesn't matter. That was the reality last night.
(1) Perry had zero turnovers the first half.
(2) Perry hit a corner three off a feed from Chandler right after tgat
(3) Oweh did not have a poster dunk (if he did dunk). Oweh was terrible the whole game as he had 5 TO’s and was 1-6 and actually missed a few “and 1’s because he couldn’t make a guarded layup last night.
(4). I don’t think Pope was trying to “not make Perry feel bad”. He was trying to manage a game.
(5). I do agree that Pope needs to be a little meaner. At least during second half when Bama was imposing their will, Pope told team during a timeout that they couldn’t quit and to keep fighting. He maybe should get a tougher mindset in pre-game locker room session.
Chandler is much better defensively, but he is really shaky with the ball. Difficult to have him playing heavy minutes at point against a team that can pressure you like Bama.
No great options, if we’re being fair.
I think officials that watch a guy get bulldozed in open court and call nothing deserve heat.
Otherwise they get comfortable in their incompetence.
I agree with this. If anything, it might make things in some cases worse. I heard Matt Jones say a few weeks ago that college refs have some of the most fragile egos of any profession. Coaches who antagonize them could catch the return fire or ultimate pettiness. People generally do not like to be undermined in their field but that is amplified when they are publicly getting torn to shreds by coaches. They are sensitive and likely feel that outsiders do not understand how “hard their job is”, something that many people feel about their own profession right or wrong. I think Pope does a good job with the refs personally. I think personnel and familiarity have more to do with the differences we see in officiating compared to some others.
RD what’s your opinion on pope? Will he become a coach who has UK top 5-10 every year or are we looking at a great season every 3 or 4 years? Where would you rate him on the up and comer list?
Bad call that set the tone
Pope can do nothing about bad calls
Technicals don't help the team
Perry had 11 points. 2 turnovers and more rebounds (4) than Garrison ( who had.zero). Noah, who I support 100%, had 4 points and only two boards.
I agree that we’re at a disadvantage with Perry going against super athletic and potentially pro guards. However, some of the posters on this message board incessantly bad-mouth Perry.
Look, I do agree with you that people go overboard. I’m very much a pro-Perry poster and always have been. Getting to see him in bigger minutes lets you see just how far away he is from being a dependable rotation player. Yes he did have 11 points and I expect he will one day be the offensive weapon many of us believe he can be. However, he may very well be the easiest defender to exploit in this conference as of now. People should consider that he is a freshman—-he has plenty of time to get stronger and work on his body. He doesn’t have to become Adou Thiero —- obviously he won’t —- but he can become at least a deterrent. Right now, anyone who drives in his direction has a bucket. That said, his perimeter defense has been much better. He’s moving better laterally than he was early in the year which tells me he’s processing defensive data faster and he’s contesting shots more often. I think Perry needs to be patient. I think fans need to be patient with him. I still believe in Travis Perry — it’s just not his time yet.
So you're saying he shouldn't have gone full Bobby Knight and thrown a chair? We were spent, Ala
was on their game. We hung in for most of the game, (without 2 players who could have made some difference)
We got 0 calls in our favor and we were roughed up all night. All that being said we did probably as
good as can reasonably be expected under the circumstances
Agree.
I thought that some of our guys were giving up. And Pope got pretty animated in the huddle. But Pope going nuts on the refs wasn't saving us.
I've liked how he's put together a staff, roster on the fly, recruiting has exceeded what I expected this quickly, and some of the guys he wanted (Smith at St. John's and Lanier at TN) would've been massive additions this year. So tells me he/staff identify the Portal targets well. Throw in the wins against top tier teams in 1st yr--ability to adjust/adapt...love the future of the program. Really think he's got to get that NCAA win this upcoming week to eradicate that last pressure filled checkmark just to relax the less patient aspect of the fanbase.
I think it's a Top 5-10 Staff in making in terms of an approach that can sustain rather than throwing **** at a dartboard like Cal was doing at end. Loved what Cal was/brought to UK but the last 4 yrs were gross in terms of staff ('21 especially) and '22/'24 in terms of allowing the players to get their way and ruin the program.
I told my son, I would have been escorted out of the building! T-Time!!
Not a big deal, but Pope will turn 53 in September, having been born on 09/11/72.
Mark Pope - Wikipedia
I’m still trying to figure out why he doesn’t run more zone defenses with this team, including when it’s really obvious we aren’t as athletic as our opponent.
This doesn't bother me nearly as much as his substitutions. I get keeping fresh legs on the floor and being limited with injuries. But if players are getting tired and getting subbed in and out this frequently then I really start to question their conditioning program and trainers.
If Pope is mean enough to win the recruiting and portal wars, I think the rest will work out.
I've thought the same thing, especially when Cal was criticized so heavily for refusing to zone. To be fair, there is very little zone defense played by ANY teams, as best I can tell. As a general rule, teams just do not play zone defense. ????
I disagree on Cal.
Cal recruited at such a high level until 2020 that the NCAA had only one way to stop him. They did.
Right, but when you're looking at Philon and Sears coming at you, I'm rolling with Chandler over Perry. You can't let those guys get downhill.
Pope went with Perry from the tip. Also, the fact that Perry was never in foul trouble, is very telling. It tells me he wasn't even getting in their way. He wasn't physical enough and he didn't provide a lick.of resistance.
Perry is going to be really good, but physically, he's not ready for that type of assignment, Chandler is.
Pope went with Perry from the tip, that was his gameplan.
Perry was never in foul trouble, do you know why? Because he allowed Sears and Philon to do whatever they wanted to do. He didn't even get in their way. Those guys got around him and to the rim with ease.
You can go ahead and defend it all you want, but if I see Sears and Philon on the other team, Ihm going with Chandler over Perry. You're trying to act like Chandler had 3 fouls out of the gate, he wasn't. Chandler is the better player at every aspect of the game and he is more ready physically than Perry by a mile.
I personally don’t think either was a great option, for different reasons.
Perry struggles to guard but honestly, so does Chandler at that level.
Chandler turned it over 3 times in 18 minutes despite not being the primary ball handler most of the night.
Start Chandler at the point, and you likely have a different kind of massacre, with turnovers galore and an Alabama track meet.
I’m guessing Pope went with the hope of taking care of the ball and running great offense, thinking maybe we could win a game in the 90s.
I just don't think you can play Perry against a team like that.
Chandler has more size, he is a better defender, he is stronger and he is much better athlete.
Yeah, he had some turnovers, but I'll take that over a guy that has absolutely zero chance of slowing down their guys. Chandler has shown he is the better defender and Perry's 11 points isn't enough to justify getting 30 minutes.
Bottom line, we need Butler.
Well I appreciate that and yeah he has assembled a good staff. He may lose a couple in the off season though. Which brings me back to the initial question of pope as a coach? Sure he can run a program. He’s very organized all that’s great but at UK organized and staff management don’t cut it. It always has boiled down to the head coach. You kind of dodged the question on popes abilities. I guess we take that for granted but Barney hired Bcg who was disorganized and a total mess. So pope passes there. He’s the 5th highest paid coach. Is he the 5th best coach in the country? This is where I’m getting at. And I think the skeptic group expect more than winning a first round game. Most of my friends and family say s16 is where they rate a successful season. I think some people are all in on pope and think he can be something special while most need to see more.
The thing about a guy trying to get his first tourney win ever as a coach and doing it at UK it’s going to be difficult unless he tears down some barriers now and makes an elite 8 run. First it’s the tourney win, then it’s next year “he needs to make it out of the first weekend”, then eventually hopefully “he needs to make a final four”. The progress required exceeds the amount of patience bbn may have. A coach who is aspiring for their first tourney win vs a coach whose next milestone is a final four or title Barney decided on a guy never haven won. I hope pope can make a run this year and build on his resume. I was also hoping for a more definitive take on pope specifically but it sort of serves my point. There isn’t much to go on. He’s a former uk player who did a good job running a couple of Utah programs. He’s the best former player in college. He needs to prove he can coach in the lose or go home format. That’s why you hire a proven coach. Pope can shut me up though by making a sweet sixteen and not getting upset in the tournament. That means he makes a sweet sixteen and plays a Cinderella he can’t lose. UK fans have had enough losing. I gather that across the board. He’s had some good wins and bad losses.
Ps UK fans aren’t going to measure pope against cal. Always we want the best coach in cbb. I mean we are like the Yankees fan base and won’t accept an unproven coach for too long without serious success. I don’t know RD I don’t see the “it” factor that meshes with our goals and tradition and mostly what we lifetime uk fans not represented by the tech heavy youth. I remember that guy screaming at MJ last year when pope was hired fbomb after fbomb. As fast as the fanbase went from freak out to acceptance his one tournament win isn’t going to be enough. Especially after the viral clip talking about how “perfect” butlers scans were and was planning to play hin in the second half.
29K views · 253 reactions | Mark Pope gave up an update on Lamont Butler's injury #bbn #kentuckybasketball | Kentucky Sports Radio
Mark Pope gave up an update on Lamont Butler's injury #bbn #kentuckybasketball.
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It’s a fb video link idk if it plays but this will wear thin fast and tbh with all the injuries I’m concerned it’s less about serious injury and more about some of the shut it down stuff we saw with cal. I mean from what i understand Robinson could have played but elected to have the surgery now. I think we will find out more after the season. The relationship between Robinson being adamant about not playing pg and butlers uncertainty game to game the. Robinson pulling the plug. Idk. Maybe I’m a cynic because of Cals blatant lying but this situation seems to be more than meets the eye. Robinson was playing great first half then stopped bc of pain. Idk man I’m sitting here typing through this stuff processing through it. We ll see.
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Bama didn't need Doug Shows to help them beat our depleted team, but he did anyway.
Doug Shows is the ultimate SEC Company Man.
Pope has had a real trial by fire this year. It's one of those things that, where his personality is concerned, he is going to have to toughen up and find his ground in dealing with SEC officiating moving forward. Lots to learn. I trust he will think long and hard about it and find the right answer for himself.
I don't ever see him pulling a Robert Montgomery Knight tantrum and tossing chairs onto the floor in protestation.....
THANK GOD for that ! 😂
Making a statement in getting a technical is what he will NEED to learn to do at some point. I think most every Kentucky coach has, if they stayed here long enough. The players actually seeing Coach Pope get T'd up, it will light a fire under them when it happens, but I'm cool with it happening in the NCAA tournament rather than the SEC tournament....
I don't ever see him pulling a Robert Montgomery Knight tantrum and tossing chairs onto the floor in protestation.....
THANK GOD for that ! 😂
Making a statement in getting a technical is what he will NEED to learn to do at some point. I think most every Kentucky coach has, if they stayed here long enough. The players actually seeing Coach Pope get T'd up, it will light a fire under them when it happens, but I'm cool with it happening in the NCAA tournament rather than the SEC tournament....
