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Every college basketball analyst and every Southeastern Conference coach has made it clear that the SEC is the nation’s best basketball conference this year and Kentucky coach Mark Pope has predicted the upcoming league games will be a “bloodbath” for every school.
“Every game, you’re going to walk in and it’s going to feel like a tossup. And I think when you have that, it’s going to so much end up with – what does your team’s execution look like? How capable are you communicating on the floor? Executing on the floor?” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said.
“I think it’s going to come down to a lot to resolve. Like how much frustration are you capable of enduring? Where is your emotional reservoir at? I know that sounds like soft skills but that’s actually defining features of great games.”
Pope said SEC games could even have a “little bit of an NBA feel” this season where players cannot get too high or too low “because you don’t have time to emotionally rehab from letting yourself be devastated or elated” over any game.
“You play the number three team in the country and two days later you’re going on the road to play the number one team in the country and then you are playing the number 10 team in the country,” Pope said.
“I think it’s going to be a matter of just those two things. Where are you on the execution scale and, you know, where are you on that durability scale, right? And those are going to matter.”
3 Responses
Yes, the SEC has an NBA feel when it comes to thug ball – push, shove, carry the ball under your arm, hit a shooters elbow – it’s the woke version of what used to be real BB in decades past. Even the pros players real BB when Bob Cousy, Bill Russell & other Celtics dominated the NBA, and it was still real BB when the marvelous Big “O” was a triple-double machine without waking, pushing to clear the way or shuffling his pivot foot.
College BB has fallen into a trap whereby it’s a street ball performance for many players with few skills.
Pistol Pete Maravich was the best ball handler in history and he did it when players were called for palming the ball even just a little bit when dribbling. If some of the thugs today had to play by the rules as the college & pro players did in the 50’s to the 80’s, they would either not get to play, fouls out in a few minutes or commit a turnover 90% of the time they touched the ball.
When Dan Issel, Pratt, Casey & co played in the little FL “gym” they were subjected to fans sitting behind them (when catching a breather on the bench) who would hit them towels!!! Yes – For real !! Mike Casey told me about it when he was out for a year due to his broken leg. That was in the 70’s!!! Now it’s much worse because those road games in the SEC include brutal thuggery by opponents while in the game and are aided & abetted by the refs!
I agree, LB. You almost see more players palming the ball than not. And since when did it become legal for the guy the with the ball to just body up and push his man under the basket until he is close enough to lay it over the rim. Basketball has become a very one-sided physical sport.
One night back in the 60s a Mississippi State fan put a skunk under Rupps seat on the bench.