Will Pope adjust to the physicality of the SEC?

[312CAT]

I went into this season not caring about Pope's results for his first season here. Think we've had a fun yet frustrating season & I really can't complain.

My only worry is whether Pope can build a physical team to compete in this conference. I don't think his current system will work long-term if we keep getting shut out at the perimeter like Auburn did today.

 

[wildcat_nation28]

only thing is that's not the guys he recruits

 

[hotelblue]

the sec has always had strong athletes, and even some of our best offensive teams are capable of playing good defense. but honestly, a physical style doesn’t win anymore. if you’re trying to go to the ff, you want the bama style, not the the tennessee style. look at lsu and south carolina. they have a bunch of tanks on their team, but regularly can’t score 65 points.

 

[adam512003]

Might should adjust to how SEC games are called, and have his guys flop at every opportunity. Flopping would be a point of emphasis for officials the next season if we started doing it.

 

[Farsight]

He needs it yes. He shouldn't go all in though on that type. He needs at least 3-4 guys who can be physical that can score.

I hate to say it, we could have used Adou Theiro this year.

 

[katwest]

We need a Joe B Hall type of roster two big bulls at center and a couple of rugged big forwards with athletic shooting guards. This type of team is needed in the SEC going forward. The best teams in this league have that now, Florida, Auburn and Alabama.

 

[Smashcat]

He better.

 

[Smashcat]

Flopping would be a point of emphasis for officials the next season if we started doing it.

lol True.

 

[jwphelps]

I went into this season not caring about Pope's results for his first season here. Think we've had a fun yet frustrating season & I really can't complain.

My only worry is whether Pope can build a physical team to compete in this conference. I don't think his current system will work long-term if we keep getting shut out at the perimeter like Auburn did today.

You realize his options were not that great by the time he got the job.

 

[312CAT]

You realize his options were not that great by the time he got the job.

Oh wow I never noticed that

 

[ncaaky]

If he keeps getting slow, unathletic, terrible defensive and not effective offensive players, the answer is no.

We will see this portal session what his mindset is. There will be no excuses next season. There is not one returning player except Oweh who would scare off any portal player from coming. He has a whole year to recruit portal players through back channels and has a top 3 NIL budget according to Matt Jones.

 

[CBBCrazy]

I would say he has 3 yrs or so to adapt or he will be adapting to another job. I love the guy and hope and pray he gets in done, but the honeymoon is over after a couple years here. I think he had done an amazing job for the talent he was able to put together while having nothing. Winning 20+ games this year is amazing, but in the end our expectations going forward are to be near the top. He knows the assignment, now he needs to get to work and get it done.

 

[megablue]

To my view, Pope needs to successfully recruit athletes far more talented than those he’s coached throughout his career. Hopefully, he will be up to this challenge.

 

[TTTblue24]

After how this season has played out, it will be very interesting to see what portal guys he goes after then the ones he lands. I think next year is when we can actually grade coach pope and see how he has or has not adjusted.

 

[docholiday51]

How exactly does he adjust? You go from no touch fouls(like Carr picked up) to a
total WWE free for all (UT and Alabama) It is a game to game guessing exercise
in futility.

Expanding on this thought how do SEC teams adjust to the NCAAT, some may
not have enough players to finish a game

 

[docholiday51]

To my view, Pope needs to recruit athletes far more talented than those he’s coached throughout his career. Hopefully, he will be up to this challenge.

The question is can he actually get those type of players here

 

[wildcat_nation28]

The question is can he actually get those type of players here

that's the problem I think Pope is going to have

 

[storm1507]

We need to fire our present "flopping" coach and steal one of the assistants from Duke, Auburn, etc. etc.

 

[Wildcats1st]

Our guards regressed this year. If I’m a physically SEC caliber guard why would I play for mark pope? Seriously.

 

[U Go UK]

He needs to upgrade his assistant coaches.

 

[Ky_Bred_Cat]

I would say he has 3 yrs or so to adapt or he will be adapting to another job. I love the guy and hope and pray he gets in done, but the honeymoon is over after a couple years here. I think he had done an amazing job for the talent he was able to put together while having nothing. Winning 20+ games this year is amazing, but in the end our expectations going forward are to be near the top. He knows the assignment, now he needs to get to work and get it done.

This says it all right here.

 

[Cleatortoises]

Our guards regressed this year. If I’m a physically SEC caliber guard why would I play for mark pope? Seriously.

Which ones?
Butler injured a decent amount of the yr.
Great when healthy.
Kerr out
Oweh improved. Leading scorer unexpectedly.
All frosh exceeded most expectations.
JR when not injured, as expected.
Brea perhaps a slight regression.
Seriously.

 

[ganner918]

I went into this season not caring about Pope's results for his first season here. Think we've had a fun yet frustrating season & I really can't complain.

My only worry is whether Pope can build a physical team to compete in this conference. I don't think his current system will work long-term if we keep getting shut out at the perimeter like Auburn did today.

What we're lacking are guys who can make defenses pay for pressing out on the perimeter by blowing by them on the drive.

 

[BarefootBeach]

💩💩No, pope won't adjust to the physicality of the sec

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Pope has to recruit the best defensive players that play hard with heart 100% of the time EVERY game that has some offensive skills. Those are the types he needs to find to make up a lot of his teams. Too many teams want it more than us. Too many teams have players that play at a high level of intensity the whole game. And of course. he better get two at every position like this with the ref situation with us.

 

[catlogic15]

Not sure Pope the leopard can change his spots. He’s employed the system we saw this year for some time now, which doesn’t require a ton of physicality. Pope is 54 not 35 so as much as I’d like to see him adjust to the toughness of the SEC, it might not be in his coaching DNA.

 

[fatguy87]

The SEC "toughness" is a once in a lifetime occurrence. The conference is older than it will ever be and stronger at the top.

Other than this season, teams from other conferences generally found handling SEC "toughness" or "physicality" to not be much of an issue.

 

[WallMashKyBall]

The way to wreck pope's system is to jump out on the zoom action at the three point line and not worry about Pope's guys driving for dunks. They don't do that, this group is not athletic enough, particularly when Noah and Perry are on the floor. Even Brea and Robinson are not attack the hoop guys. And Amari has a 5 assists to 4 turnovers ratio of hitting the cutter, so that's not gonna win you games. Oweh can drive but he's inconsistent. Butler misses many layups.

I do think Pope deserves three years to see if it works, but he's not a junk yard dog (like Pearl) and he doesn't recruit junk yard dogs like Alburn, Alabama and Tennissee do.

 

[EliteBlue]

How exactly does he adjust? You go from no touch fouls(like Carr picked up) to a
total WWE free for all (UT and Alabama) It is a game to game guessing exercise
in futility.

Expanding on this thought how do SEC teams adjust to the NCAAT, some may
not have enough players to finish a game

It’s honestly a good argument of recruiting a legit 10 deep and playing the Pitino hack and grab/can’t call them all method. It’s kinda what Auburn is doing too.

Often times fortune favors the aggressor anyways bc it looks “normal” so fouls don’t stand out at much. When you’re playing defense by the freedom of movement book, it stands out when you make a singular aggressive move and it often gets called

 

[FirewithFire]

Depends upon how he does in the big dance. If we go there and the reffing is completely opposite of the WWE, I mean the SEC, then I think he will stick to his current mindset. If we go there and the reffing is the same then I suspect to see a more athletic approach.

I would like to see a recruiting effort that gives us actual role players. Right now we have to many of the same type of player.

And an enforcer please. This team is in desperate need of a Rejector Riddick or a Jamal Magloire.

 

[CastleRubric]

A better question may be "will the SEC continue to be as tough and deep as it was this year"


I don't see how thats possible

So yeah - coach brings new talent
And the conference PROBABLY lightens up a little

 

[canebreak]

the sec has always had strong athletes, and even some of our best offensive teams are capable of playing good defense. but honestly, a physical style doesn’t win anymore. if you’re trying to go to the ff, you want the bama style, not the the tennessee style. look at lsu and south carolina. they have a bunch of tanks on their team, but regularly can’t score 65 points.

What. Yes because Bama has won so many championships. Last three champions were very physical.

 

[BigBlueManSouthCentralKY]

Seems that Pope wants two superstars and two high level players out of the portal to go with what we have back. Assume he would like one superstar at the four and one superstar at the three? Then a high level combo 4/5 and a high level 1/2?

 

[catsfanbgky]

the sec has always had strong athletes, and even some of our best offensive teams are capable of playing good defense. but honestly, a physical style doesn’t win anymore. if you’re trying to go to the ff, you want the bama style, not the the tennessee style. look at lsu and south carolina. they have a bunch of tanks on their team, but regularly can’t score 65 points.

LSU actually has a bunch of rail thin, athletes that can't shoot or muscle you. Terrible at rebounder and scoring. 14th in the SEC on offense, 15th on defense. They have switched to a 4 guard lineup to help the scorer, their rebounding has suffered even more so now.

 

[catsfanbgky]

Pope kind of touched on what he is looking for for next year. Said he is looking to get 2 "superstar" caliber players and a couple nice depth pieces from the portal, blend it in what what we have coming back, along with the guys he signed from HS ranks. He thinks the correct way to build a roster is this : talented HS kids with a couple multi year guys, returning players for cohesiveness, and a couple super stars and some depth from the portal. I stated the exact thing was they way to do it. You have to have a mixture of young, highly talented kids, returning players and finish up with studs and depth from the portal. He and I share the exact same philosophy to build a contender YEAR IN and YEAR OUT. Can't be slanted one way, or you will have a team like this year, very solid, depth, but flawed and limited. Or like Cal, super talented young guys with not much veteran leadership. Mixture of age and talent strengths. I think another year growth for Oweh and Garrison, next year we have a very strong nucleus we did not have coming into this year. Perry and Noah will help some in depth next year, but i feel they are another year away from being really productive. Noah maybe before Perry. Chandler ? I don't really know when or IF he ever gets there. I really like some stuff Perry and Noah have shown, Chandler, not so much.

 

[westerncat]

In fairness to Pope the SEC has never been this strong before from top to bottom. Plus he had little time to get a staff and a team together since all the players we had followed our former coach to Ark. or went somewhere else. Pope played in the SEC himself so he knows the SEC is like but has i pointed out is has never been this good before. Give him time he will get the right kind of player for UK.