Our improvements the past 2-3 weeks

[ManitouDan]

I think it’s clear - Carr is playing much more physical , last night it looked like he just said “ he’ll with it , I’m gonna push , lean , push , hack , claw “ until they call some fouls . Thankfully they did not .
Amari Williams deciding he’s not going to get pushed around .
The improving confidence and play of Jaxson . Willing to take wide open 2s when needed . Sometimes it’s the best shot . Also gathered 8 rebounds last night - that help is so much needed with a frontline that needs the help on the boards .

Garrison coming along , still maddening at times , but he seems to figuring it out . And our own Ky boy , T Perry giving Lamont some valuable minutes to get a breather .
I really think the team is coming on .
What are you guys thoughts on the team looking like it truly learned some things from losing a game or two . We flat got ripped at Ga , I’ll look over that one .

 

[SemperFiCat]

I think it’s clear - Carr is playing much more physical , last night it looked like he just said “ he’ll with it , I’m gonna push , lean , push , hack , claw “ until they call some fouls . Thankfully they did not .
Amari Williams deciding he’s not going to get pushed around .
The improving confidence and play of Jaxson . Willing to take wide open 2s when needed . Sometimes it’s the best shot . Also gathered 8 rebounds last night - that help is so much needed with a frontline that needs the help on the boards .

Garrison coming along , still maddening at times , but he seems to figuring it out . And our own Ky boy , T Perry giving Lamont some valuable minutes to get a breather .
I really think the team is coming on .
What are you guys thoughts on the team looking like it truly learned some things from losing a game or two . We flat got ripped at Ga , I’ll look over that one .

Yep, agreed. Been pretty happy, for the most part, with how we've been playing since conference has started. Recently, we're playing more physical, and rebounding a little better. BUT, there's still lapses, and the Def has got a lot of slack in the line still. I'm pretty OK with everything, all things considered.

 

[michaeluk26]

I think it’s clear - Carr is playing much more physical , last night it looked like he just said “ he’ll with it , I’m gonna push , lean , push , hack , claw “ until they call some fouls . Thankfully they did not .
Amari Williams deciding he’s not going to get pushed around .
The improving confidence and play of Jaxson . Willing to take wide open 2s when needed . Sometimes it’s the best shot . Also gathered 8 rebounds last night - that help is so much needed with a frontline that needs the help on the boards .

Garrison coming along , still maddening at times , but he seems to figuring it out . And our own Ky boy , T Perry giving Lamont some valuable minutes to get a breather .
I really think the team is coming on .
What are you guys thoughts on the team looking like it truly learned some things from losing a game or two . We flat got ripped at Ga , I’ll look over that one .

I whole wholeheartedly agree. Our guys are learning. I like the pace we're learning at as well. From 2019-2024 Cals teams peaked in February way to often. It seems this team learns lessons after every game cause they have a legitimate teacher.

 

[RunninRichie]

Definitely don’t look like the same team, that shyed away from contact,

 

[Skyguyb27]

I’m happy with the improvements. Need to get Brea to start acting like an alpha and creating his shot though.

Can you imagine if Pope can get this defense efficiency and rebounding up in the top 5-10 range?

 

[MegaBlue05]

I’m seeing a team and coaching staff that works to fix its flaws. Pope and staff have been hammering the guys on boxing out and rebounding. We are charting every box out attempt in practice and games (called “hits”).

This staff is very analytical and data driven. Pope and staff are film worms and have our kids watching film regularly.

The difference in staff philosophies from the previous regime are like night and day.

 

[JFCats22]

Our defense (while still awful at times) has improved significantly. In the KemPom ratings we were at (I believe) 102 in defense a couple of weeks ago and have climbed to #75 after last night. There is still room for big improvement and it is needed as there is only one team worse than us in D rating in the top 45, but we are heading in the right direction.

 

[trueblujr2]

I think it’s clear - Carr is playing much more physical , last night it looked like he just said “ he’ll with it , I’m gonna push , lean , push , hack , claw “ until they call some fouls . Thankfully they did not .
Amari Williams deciding he’s not going to get pushed around .
The improving confidence and play of Jaxson . Willing to take wide open 2s when needed . Sometimes it’s the best shot . Also gathered 8 rebounds last night - that help is so much needed with a frontline that needs the help on the boards .

Garrison coming along , still maddening at times , but he seems to figuring it out . And our own Ky boy , T Perry giving Lamont some valuable minutes to get a breather .
I really think the team is coming on .
What are you guys thoughts on the team looking like it truly learned some things from losing a game or two . We flat got ripped at Ga , I’ll look over that one .

There was a point where we had a 12 point lead, Perry was holding his own out there and Butler was on the Bench beat all to hell, but Pope put Butler back in there. At that point I would have extended Perry's minutes and just let Butler rest.

I hope whatever shoulder issue Butler was dealing with doesn't linger. We can't be without both Butler and Kerr. I know Robinson can fill in in a pinch, but that's dicey.

 

[ManitouDan]

I thought Florida looked legit but I guess them giving up 106 to big blue was no outlier . They have serious defensive issues .
I love our team , very satisfying so far !

 

[ManitouDan]

There was a point where we had a 12 point lead, Perry was holding his own out there and Butler was on the Bench beat all to hell, but Pope put Butler back in there. At that point I would have extended Perry's minutes and just let Butler rest.

I hope whatever shoulder issue Butler was dealing with doesn't linger. We can't be without both Butler and Kerr. I know Robinson can fill in in a pinch, but that's dicey.

Been a couple times I’d rolled more ( or less ) with a certain player . I wanted Carr in the floor at the end of the MSU game . And yes Tyler was playing super solid last night — huge improvement from a month ago . Like hard to believe after seeing him live earlier this year .

 

[The_Answer1313]

This might not be a popular opinion but to be honest I feel at times people say things like "oh this team isn't physical" or "this team is soft" or "this team shys away from contact) or "this team isn't built for rock fights of the SEC"

I never thought any of these things were true about this UK team. At all. We are in a conference that ranks 2nd among all conferences in offensive rebounding %. There's a ton of good teams in this conference that crash the boards and play very physical.

Guess what? We've played four games in this conference and have won three of them. We just faced the number 1 team in offensive rebounding % and held them to them only rebounding 28% of their misses. Which is basically our average of 27% for the season (62nd overall).

We were never as soft as people made us out to be.

 

[BassProCat]

UGA game was turning point for the physical play and rebounding improvement.

 

[ukcatz12]

The defense has jumped about 25 spots in efficiency over the last few games. Last year we knew the defense sucked and were all wish we'd just get lucky in March that the offense carried the team. This year it seems like the defense sucked but there's actually signs it's improving. All the weakness we've seen this year have or are slowly being addressed.

 

[Skyguyb27]

There was a point where we had a 12 point lead, Perry was holding his own out there and Butler was on the Bench beat all to hell, but Pope put Butler back in there. At that point I would have extended Perry's minutes and just let Butler rest.

I hope whatever shoulder issue Butler was dealing with doesn't linger. We can't be without both Butler and Kerr. I know Robinson can fill in in a pinch, but that's dicey.

Butler’s issue last night was getting slammed to floor, smashed in the face repeatedly. Hell he may feel better today after 12 rounds with Tyson.

 

[SmyrnaCatFan]

This might not be a popular opinion but to be honest I feel at times people say things like "oh this team isn't physical" or "this team is soft" or "this team shys away from contact) or "this team isn't built for rock fights of the SEC"

I never thought any of these things were true about this UK team. At all. We are in a conference that ranks 2nd among all conferences in offensive rebounding %. There's a ton of good teams in this conference that crash the boards and play very physical.

Guess what? We've played four games in this conference and have won three of them. We just faced the number 1 team in offensive rebounding % and held them to them only rebounding 28% of their misses. Which is basically our average of 27% for the season (62nd overall).

We were never as soft as people made us out to be.

I agree. None of these guys had played against SEC teams except in an out of conference game. They have never worn the target on their backs that UK teams wear as battle dress uniforms. They are adjusting to the unrelenting hostility when we travel and when visiting teams come in. Now they know what it means to play for Kentucky and for almost every player what it takes to step up. They are learning.

 

[The_Answer1313]

The defense has jumped about 25 spots in efficiency over the last few games. Last year we knew the defense sucked and were all wish we'd just get lucky in March that the offense carried the team. This year it seems like the defense sucked but there's actually signs it's improving. All the weakness we've seen this year have or are slowly being addressed.

You know tho I would like to see if over a greater number of games before saying that it's actually improving.

Even last season, we had back to back games where we held Miss to .87 ppp and then Auburn to .88 ppp and we all thought that the defense was improving. It clearly wasn't because every game after that was north of 1.06.

So I guess we'll wait and see. you can definitely tell they are working on it tho.

 

[jwphelps]

I think it’s clear - Carr is playing much more physical , last night it looked like he just said “ he’ll with it , I’m gonna push , lean , push , hack , claw “ until they call some fouls . Thankfully they did not .
Amari Williams deciding he’s not going to get pushed around .
The improving confidence and play of Jaxson . Willing to take wide open 2s when needed . Sometimes it’s the best shot . Also gathered 8 rebounds last night - that help is so much needed with a frontline that needs the help on the boards .

Garrison coming along , still maddening at times , but he seems to figuring it out . And our own Ky boy , T Perry giving Lamont some valuable minutes to get a breather .
I really think the team is coming on .
What are you guys thoughts on the team looking like it truly learned some things from losing a game or two . We flat got ripped at Ga , I’ll look over that one .

They are improving and still have some other area's to improve, but it is a fun ride, so glad the boring Cal is gone.

 

[TTTblue24]

Embracing physical play along with improved defense and rebounding has given this team and edge we lacked to start the year. We do have lulls where we can’t score but JR has kinda eased those by his play and hope he continues to stay in attack mode, this team needs him to play and be aggressive offensively.
Amari’s improvement along with JR and butler & OO doing their thing is the best version of this team. Carr has been more decisive and looking to score as well, but the team has embraced what it takes to win in the SEC.

 

[ManitouDan]

You know tho I would like to see if over a greater number of games before saying that it's actually improving.

Even last season, we had back to back games where we held Miss to .87 ppp and then Auburn to .88 ppp and we all thought that the defense was improving. It clearly wasn't because every game after that was north of 1.06.

So I guess we'll wait and see. you can definitely tell they are working on it tho.

Not picking on you at all, you are a very solid poster , but it seems like a lot of fans get carried away with analytics , whether it be points per possession or Kenpom or fill in the blank .. maybe its age related ? I'm an old dog , I know what I see on the court . We are fine . We really are , we are finer than fine . Our numbers can fluctuate any way they want , nothing takes away from knowing , beyond a doubt , we made a great hire , we have a fun team who beat Duke and the Zags , and Florida . Those are resume builders that no stats can erase . for lack of a better ending ......... I love my team.

 

[ukcatz12]

You know tho I would like to see if over a greater number of games before saying that it's actually improving.

Even last season, we had back to back games where we held Miss to .87 ppp and then Auburn to .88 ppp and we all thought that the defense was improving. It clearly wasn't because every game after that was north of 1.06.

So I guess we'll wait and see. you can definitely tell they are working on it tho.

For the defense as a whole, yeah. But there's been some noticeable improvement in the rebounding and how they've been handling physical play. A&M is the type of team that would have just bullied us into a loss just a few weeks ago and we out rebounded them and held them to their lowest offense rebounding percentage of the year. Baby steps.

 

[ukcatz12]

Not picking on you at all, you are a very solid poster , but it seems like a lot of fans get carried away with analytics , whether it be points per possession or Kenpom or fill in the blank

Those analytics are almost always accurate though. The "modern offense" that everyone loves is based on those analytics. Playing efficient basketball on both ends of the court results in wins. Kenpom rankings are usually predictive of tournament success, and there are trends that successful tournament teams have that have been proven out over a few decades of that data.

Everything that makes Pope a great coach is predicated on following and paying attention to the analytics.

 

[ManitouDan]

Those analytics are almost always accurate though. The "modern offense" that everyone loves is based on those analytics. Playing efficient basketball on both ends of the court results in wins. Kenpom rankings are usually predictive of tournament success, and there are trends that successful tournament teams have that have been proven out over a few decades of that data.

Everything that makes Pope a great coach is predicated on following and paying attention to the analytics.

I agree to a point , at some point I trust my eyes more than numbers on a sheet generated by humans . But Kenpom is goofy as heck IMO .. but dont hi jack my thread !! LOL. JK you .

 

[The_Answer1313]

Not picking on you at all, you are a very solid poster , but it seems like a lot of fans get carried away with analytics , whether it be points per possession or Kenpom or fill in the blank .. maybe its age related ? I'm an old dog , I know what I see on the court . We are fine . We really are , we are finer than fine . Our numbers can fluctuate any way they want , nothing takes away from knowing , beyond a doubt , we made a great hire , we have a fun team who beat Duke and the Zags , and Florida . Those are resume builders that no stats can erase . for lack of a better ending ......... I love my team.

Oh yeah definitely. This isn't a slight on Pope. He's done really well here so far. I'm not sure we could have expected a better beginning to the Pope era here.

I probably do tend to lean heavily on numbers. My day job is director of accounting so I'm basically dealing with numbers all day long lol.

Yeah exactly......and no matter what our defensive number at the end of the day says, those wins over Duke, Zags, UF etc......they are on the board. They are on the resume. They will be what gives us a good seed.

I just think that people saw what the numbers said last year and what happened when we got to a one and done tournament and they (myself included) are a bit concerned the same might happen again.

 

[JC CATS]

I think it’s clear - Carr is playing much more physical , last night it looked like he just said “ he’ll with it , I’m gonna push , lean , push , hack , claw “ until they call some fouls . Thankfully they did not .
Amari Williams deciding he’s not going to get pushed around .
The improving confidence and play of Jaxson . Willing to take wide open 2s when needed . Sometimes it’s the best shot . Also gathered 8 rebounds last night - that help is so much needed with a frontline that needs the help on the boards .

Garrison coming along , still maddening at times , but he seems to figuring it out . And our own Ky boy , T Perry giving Lamont some valuable minutes to get a breather .
I really think the team is coming on .
What are you guys thoughts on the team looking like it truly learned some things from losing a game or two . We flat got ripped at Ga , I’ll look over that one .

Pretty much agree, I would rather they learned lessons in a win though

 

[ManitouDan]

Analytics wont help you make a sub at a crucial time , analytics wont help you deal with a depressed / distracted athlete , or a player with GF problems , or two guys fighting over minutes , or a 100 other possibilities .. I've been there ( player issues) , the analytics help , and probably help more than my old way of doing things sees , but it's far from foolproof .

 

[The_Answer1313]

Those analytics are almost always accurate though. The "modern offense" that everyone loves is based on those analytics. Playing efficient basketball on both ends of the court results in wins. Kenpom rankings are usually predictive of tournament success, and there are trends that successful tournament teams have that have been proven out over a few decades of that data.

Everything that makes Pope a great coach is predicated on following and paying attention to the analytics.

It's actually kind of amazing to me. Like if you just look at the team pages before games, they tend to play out the way the numbers suggest they would.

Play a team like UF, you are bound to give up some boards on offense.

Even terrible teams can do some things very well and you can still run into issues with those strengths.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

We are a finesse team. But we are becoming more physical. Our first shot defense hasn't been that bad. The defensive rebounding has been awful. That is much improved over the last 3-4 games. Probably last night being the best? Obviously they are working on it.

The rotations are coming into focus for the players and the coaching staff. Very good team that's getting better. Turnover have been an issue for the last 2 games. That's really out of character for this team so I'm not too concerned about that yet.

Things are really looking good for UK basketball. The team is a joy to watch. The coach is a joy to listen to pregame and post game. Everyone seems to having the time of their lives. can't wait for Sat!! We're getting to Lexington Friday night. Heading to Malone's Friday evening, Carson's Sat morning and then settle in at Rupp for a Tide rolling in. They will roll in high, roll out low!

 

[ORCAT]

I’m happy with the improvements. Need to get Brea to start acting like an alpha and creating his shot though.

Can you imagine if Pope can get this defense efficiency and rebounding up in the top 5-10 range?

Brea shows signs of being a go to guy and dead eye shooter but then disappears for games. I like having him on the team a lot but he leaves me wondering who he is going to be each game. Big time shooter and scorer or just a face in the crowd type of guy. Wish he would start playing with more consistency. Give us a few 3's each game and maybe 10-15 points. Doesn't have to be spectacular but just more consistent.

 

[JC CATS]

Analytics wont help you make a sub at a crucial time , analytics wont help you deal with a depressed / distracted athlete , or a player with GF problems , or two guys fighting over minutes , or a 100 other possibilities .. I've been there ( player issues) , the analytics help , and probably help more than my old way of doing things sees , but it's far from foolproof .

No, there is no p e thing that solves those thi gs. Xs and Os don't help in those situations either

 

[The_Answer1313]

Analytics wont help you make a sub at a crucial time , analytics wont help you deal with a depressed / distracted athlete , or a player with GF problems , or two guys fighting over minutes , or a 100 other possibilities .. I've been there ( player issues) , the analytics help , and probably help more than my old way of doing things sees , but it's far from foolproof .

There's some truth to this. The numbers are averages. Game by game things happen. Numbers fluctuate for no apparent reason at all or for maybe reasons we don't even know about. GF breaks up with someone and they have a bad game because of that. Some mentioned that people were distracted during the NY trip because of the engagements that happened. Who knows.

I think that's why you try to get the averages as high as possible, to mitigate things like this. Because from time to time players are just not going to perform, for whatever reason that might be.

 

[UKBB4Ever]

There's some truth to this. The numbers are averages. Game by game things happen. Numbers fluctuate for no apparent reason at all or for maybe reasons we don't even know about. GF breaks up with someone and they have a bad game because of that. Some mentioned that people were distracted during the NY trip because of the engagements that happened. Who knows.

I think that's why you try to get the averages as high as possible, to mitigate things like this. Because from time to time players are just not going to perform, for whatever reason that might be.

Or just throw the nerd numbers out and just play.

 

[ukcatz12]

Or just throw the nerd numbers out and just play.

Pope's offense is so good because he pays attention to the nerd numbers. We just had a coach who didn't and we all saw how that went. The nerd numbers are important.

 

[The_Answer1313]

Or just throw the nerd numbers out and just play.

I don't know. I'm of the mindset that more information the better.

Just because the nerd numbers can't get you 100% of the way, doesn't necessarily mean they should be ignored either. They are helpful in their own way.

 

[ukjenning44]

It’s so nice having a coach that sees the problem areas and works on fixing them.

Instead of never adjusting and trying to do the same thing the same way over and over.

 

[The_Answer1313]

I don't know. There was some things that Cal would mention that leads me to believe he was at least aware of advanced statistics.

I think Cal's biggest issue was he didn't know how to fix them lol. He knew our defense was awful last season. He just couldn't do anything to help it.

 

[ManitouDan]

I don't know. There was some things that Cal would mention that leads me to believe he was at least aware of advanced statistics.

I think Cal's biggest issue was he didn't know how to fix them lol. He knew our defense was awful last season. He just couldn't do anything to help it.

He lost his ability to keep players focused . And / or motivated . ?? He got old

 

[The_Answer1313]

He lost his ability to keep players focused . And / or motivated . ?? He got old

Yeah based on WCS comments from the other day, he got soft apparently.

 

[ukcatz12]

Yeah based on WCS comments from the other day, he got soft apparently.

Yeah that’s probably the answer. You don’t take three schools to the final four over a two decade timeframe without being able to adapt somewhat. So he can’t be completely clueless. He just stopped caring as much.

 

[catfan220]

I think it’s clear - Carr is playing much more physical , last night it looked like he just said “ he’ll with it , I’m gonna push , lean , push , hack , claw “ until they call some fouls . Thankfully they did not .
Amari Williams deciding he’s not going to get pushed around .
The improving confidence and play of Jaxson . Willing to take wide open 2s when needed . Sometimes it’s the best shot . Also gathered 8 rebounds last night - that help is so much needed with a frontline that needs the help on the boards .

Garrison coming along , still maddening at times , but he seems to figuring it out . And our own Ky boy , T Perry giving Lamont some valuable minutes to get a breather .
I really think the team is coming on .
What are you guys thoughts on the team looking like it truly learned some things from losing a game or two . We flat got ripped at Ga , I’ll look over that one .

I was still pretty skeptical of the potential of this team even after the Duke and Gonzaga wins. Mainly bc the comebacks were unlikely enough to know you can't expect a lot of those in a season, and getting down like we did in each game was troubling. The eye test didn't match the W/L record. But I've come around now, even after some disappointing losses. This team is playing so much better lately. Winning tough games and looking the part.

Two other notes--

Agreed on Jaxson taking the open 2s. Despite the hate for long 2s, a wide open 15 footer for a good shooter is still a great shot, and analytics agree. Oweh takes maybe one pull-up contested 2 a game that I would like him to cut out, but Jaxson can take that shot all day.

Matt Jones said on the postgame show last night he doesn't think Kerr will be back this season. So it's great to see the progression from Perry since conference play started. He looks worlds better.

 

[fatguy87]

I don't know. There was some things that Cal would mention that leads me to believe he was at least aware of advanced statistics.

I think Cal's biggest issue was he didn't know how to fix them lol. He knew our defense was awful last season. He just couldn't do anything to help it.

His system/method didn't have any fixes. He's coasting on a program he developed a over a decade ago and hasn't upgraded to version 2.0.