
Andrew Carr understands blocking out the noise will be important this season. (Vicky Graff Photo)
It’s been a whirlwind for Mark Pope and his squad, and the Kentucky coach wants his first Wildcat squad to be at peace before he begins his tenure as coach.
“We’re spending some time on our staff and with our team talking about finding moments just to be still,” he said during the team’s Media Day Tuesday at the Joe Craft Center. “From a religious perspective (Isaiah 46:10) — be still and know that I am God.”
As the Wildcats brace for the start of a season of uncertainty, unfamiliarity and the usual high expectations, Pope wants his program to embrace times of reflection.
“From a team perspective, just be still — find a quiet moment off of your phone, off of social media, off away from guys where we can still be in this melee and it’s awesome,” he said.
Pope preaches peace a lot behind the scenes, and the players have developed an understanding of the biblical principle.
“He talks about that to us a lot, just being present in the moment, kind of taking it all in and not rushing it,” Kentucky freshman guard Travis Perry said.
“In terms of practice, it means being still, knowing that every rep gives you the opportunity to get better. Every day is an opportunity to get better in yourself, in your worship, whatever it is — get better every single day. Just kind of being still and appreciating the moment that we have.
Jaxson Robinson, who played for Pope two seasons at BYU, knows all about not looking ahead.
“(It means) to stay in the present — not getting too high or too low, especially as a basketball player, is something that you have to do to make sure that it stays important just because you know, you don’t want to dwell on the past and look too far into the future too, because it can mess your game up.”
The stillness of time, Pope said, serves as “an opportunity for us to find quiet moments where we can just breathe and be peaceful.”
“I think it’s a way for us to do so many things,” he said. “One, it’s a way for us to stay calm and focused, which is something that we’ll be chasing all season long. I think it’s a way for us to stay centered in terms of trying to have our internal voice in this locker room and on this team, be louder for us than all the external voices. That’s vitally important.”
A top emphasis, Pope added, is to block out the noise from various sources, including social media, and focus on internal goals.
“For every young person right now that’s growing up and carrying (a cell phone around) and is immersed in this social media barrage of input and opinions by people that don’t really care about you, I think taking a moment just to be still and listen to your internal voices, I just think is massively important,” he said.
“(It’s) probably more here at Kentucky than anywhere else because what makes this space brilliant, if you can handle it in the right way, is the volume. But it can also make it debilitating. It’s something we’re spending a lot of time teaching our guys about.
Andrew Carr, a Wake Forest transfer, compared the time of reflection to “kind of like finding peace” within — regardless of the circumstances.
“I think for us, a lot of the emphasis is going to be on blocking out, blocking out the noise and continuing to rely on each other more and more as the season gets going and allowing us to find stillness and not let anything on the outside affect us,” he said.
It’s the calm before the storm.
2 Responses
“… be still and know that I am God.”
Isaiah 46:10
This is a Word which is needed in every person in every home in every nation. There is Only One God, the Almighty God Who became the God-man Jesus and without Him as the Indwelling Life-Giving Spirit living & operating in a person, there will be no peace.
This is a very wise word from the coach. It is not preaching hollow words, but sharing the experience which has sustained Mark Pope and his family.
May many be touched by such a simple Word
in these days of turmoil and unrest!
I appreciate that Pope is not pushing a religion, but simply supplying players with “Life”-lessons.
Amen Little Baron