Vicky Graff Photo
Kentucky gets a rare break this week to prepare for the remainder of the regular season.
The Wildcats (14-4, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) fell to No. 9 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll following a 102-97 loss to No. 4 Alabama last Saturday. Pope said the one-week layoff gives his players, especially Lamont Butler and Andrew Carr, time to heal for the rest of the season.
“We have to take advantage of it and everybody’s got one,” Pope said. “Ours is probably coming at the best time for us in terms of finding a pathway to a little better health for our guys. I didn’t think that was the determining factor of the game (against Alabama).”
Pope said the objective for this week is for his squad to “be fresh and for our guys to get fresh and to get healthy is going to be key No. 1, and we would also like to make some big strides of improvement.”
In the loss to the Crimson Tide, Pope’s first loss at Rupp Arena as coach of the Wildcats, he said his squad “left so much on the table.”
“There is so much room for us to grow,” he said. “There (are) so many spaces where we can get better. In particular, playing this style of game. That’s going to be the nature of the season. We played our first five games in the league against all teams in the Top 25. It’s the nature of this league right now.”
Kentucky gets a rematch against Alabama on Feb. 22 in Tuscaloosa. The remaining schedule features seven away games and six home contests, including a home-and-home against No. 6 Tennessee. Kentucky also hosts former Wildcats coach John Calipari and Arkansas on Feb. 1 and top-ranked Auburn a month later on March 1.
“The most important thing for us is we can’t waste any energy or any time on nonconstructive things,” Pope said. “It’s a race to see how fast we can get better, and that’s not easy. … That’s kind of the speed we have to go with this.”
Pope is confident the Wildcats will bounce back Saturday at Vanderbilt. Kentucky is undefeated (3-0) in bounce-back games this season and Pope added the loss to Alabama served as a lesson, especially on the defensive end of the court for his team.
“The one thing our guys are good at is they are good at getting better and we will punish teams in the future that guard us like this even more than we did (against Alabama),” Pope said. “We just are not that far along. Every game gives you a new challenge and we just couldn’t execute that space in the game.
“I’ve got beautiful guys, my guys are fighting for each other … there is zero part of my guys that are in this for themselves at all. That doesn’t exist at all. These guys are fighting for each other.”
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NEXT GAME: Kentucky at Vanderbilt, 2:30 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: ESPN, UK Radio Network.
5 Responses
In Pope we trust. What he is saying and what we are seeing may not quite be the same. This seems like basic blocking and tackling. These guys have to be plugged in to play both halves and to develope plans to be able to score and defend at the rim. If we don’t, then there is possibility of two straight L’s coming up. Hats off to Vandy who may be the surprise team of the year in both men’s and women’s BB. New team and coaches. UT will out physical us if we don’t bring A game also. Go Cats!!…need to find that Dog and consistency.
There may be a lot of room to grow, but there is no time. These Cats have showed they can get it done. Rebound, stop fouling so much, cut down on dumb turnovers, and hit their free-throws. Go Cats!
This team has not meshed together like I thought it would. They have talent but the chemistry seems to be missing. Robinson is an all star at times and disappears at others. The same can be said for Carr. Perry’s defense leaves much to be desired and he still isn’t confident in his 3 point shot. Brea cannot get his own shot and is a weak defender and rebounder. Butler is all NBA at times and all bust at others. Williams and Garrison never seem to be on track in the same game and Oweh plays hero ball more often than not. Almonor could be a 15/10 guy but seems reluctant to push himself toward that. This was to be expected as they have never played together. If Pope can find a way to get these pieces to fit together, they will be a hard out come tourney time. Go CATS!!!
I think we are supposed to be at least 1/3 of the way thru season, and it is difficult to understand why this inconsistent play continues when many of us see the challenges. If Pope doesn’t personally have the coaching demeanor to get a little tougher, what is our all star coaching staff doing during the week? Still surprised that we get nothing from Chandler even after going up against top talent in practice.
You & Barry hot on some major issues I think the biggest problem anytime any one player goes solo and decides he is the answer to all problems by being selfish. It disrupts the TEAM and damages potential growth & really breaks down championship team chemistry.
There have been times when the chemistry is clicking – just check the A:TO ratio. Amy player who gets 20-25 minutes with ZERO assists should be made to run laps during an entire game so the other players and fans can see that selfish play will NOT be tolerated! The part-time selfish players (& sometimes 100.% selfish) are still causing disruption and not allowing the TEAM 1st concept to be developed to its maximum potential.
UK has some big wins and some pathetic losses. Just check the A:TO ratio & it will correlate to winning margin & losses. Anyone who can read a stat sheet and sees the number of minutes, number of shots and # of assists will immediately know who I’m primarily referencing.