Mark Pope says his team will not doubt what it is doing because of consecutive losses. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky has lost two straight Southeastern Conference games and now must head to No. 6 Tennessee for its next game Tuesday night.
The Cats were ranked ninth going into Saturday’s loss at Vanderbilt and likely dropped out of the top 10 this week. However, there’s no loss of confidence for coach Mark Pope when it comes to his team.
“I think it makes us better. I would choose this league this way, this year — the way it is this year — every single year. Like, it can rip you to pieces, for sure,” said Pope after the Vanderbilt loss.
“But our job is to keep finding a way to get better. And I have a really good locker room of guys that are going to keep focused on getting better.
“We’re not going to lose our confidence. We’re not going to question each other. We’re not going to doubt what we’re doing. We’re just going to use all these experiences to get better.”
Pope hopes the Vanderbilt loss will turn into a valuable learning lesson for the Cats.
“There’s really specific things that we talk about to our guys all the time, but our guys actually experienced together as a team today for the first time, where they’re like, ‘Oh, those words actually really mean something. And it’s really painful if we don’t actually do that,’” Pope said.
“And so it makes us a better team. I’m not worried about that at all. I think we’re really blessed to be facing this competition every game.”
Pope knows what his team will be facing at Tennessee on Tuesday but is looking forward to the challenge.
“I mean everybody’s really good defensively, right? That’s the great thing about this league. It’s such a fun, beautiful league and every night is going to be the biggest challenge of your season,” Pope said. “It’s nice because you don’t actually have to convince your guys of that, it’s just every single game.
“I think every team is probably feeling some fatigue and frustration, and everybody’s dealing with injuries, for sure.”
Pope has not lost faith in what his team can do this year despite the last two losses.
“We’re not far away. We have some real issues that we have to find some creative answers to, but we’re not far away. We did some really positive things tonight,” Pope said. “Some things I was really proud of our guys [for].
“We took some calculated guesses at how we could shore up some space on the floor and Vanderbilt answered really well. They’re capable of [making 3’s], but I don’t think they’ve done it before. And that’s nice, you need to make teams do stuff they don’t commonly do, and they rung the bell in that space, for sure.”
20 Responses
I still got confidence in them. Go cats!!
Confidence doesn’t count for much when you don’t have enough players. Carr and Kriisa are likely out for the season and Butler is banged up too. Neither Perry or Chandler could guard the quicker Vandy guards; Zeigler of TN will be the fastest yet. This is not downing the Cats or Coach Pope…these injuries have made us non competitive. Robinson and Brea have not taken up the scoring burden in the last 2 games. Until Butler is ready to go again at full strength or Robinson and Brea step up, it’s doubtful that we can win many more SEC games, even at Rupp. From this point, as Butler goes, Kentucky goes.
What "we" can contribute is support for this team and coaching staff. The challenges that this year presented (new coach and new players, at UK!!!) were huge. The team (all inclusive) has given its all. Support for the Cats.
I like your thinking John.
Could not agree more John Jackson
Yes sir
OUR TEAM IS MADE UP OF MOSTLY MID MAJOR PLAYERS. WE MISS CARR WHO IS A D1 PLAYER I DONT THINK WE PLAY 500 BALL IN SEC. WILLIAMS IS SOFT INSIDE. GARRISON SHOULD BE PLAYING IN FRONT OF WILLIAMS. BUTLER WEN HEALTHY IS AS GOOD AS ANYONE. POPE HAS TO GET SOME GOOD STRONG PLAYERS. IT WILL TAKE TIME. OUR DEFENSE IS AS GOOD AS IT WILL GET. .JMO
VAUGHN
He will be looking for that in future recruiting for sure. Just not a lot of time to go searching this year
Agree with both of you!
Many of you have been asking for more patience from the fan base, and I agree with that to a point. I do think we were slightly oversold on the quality of the product we put together, and that was reinforced by the team playing good enough to beat the Dukies and the Zags coming out of the gate but also bad enough to lose to the teams that we shouldn’t have. I also agree with the earlier comments of this team and perhaps coaches as well playing with the energy and fire some of the others do. I feel Pope has the passion and energy but does lack in that fire dept. and that may be his demeanor. He pushes the communications button and that hasn’t been enough for this team to play consistently with that sense of urgency and fire. Williams looks the part but doesn’t have the inside touch or fire. I think that Garrison might be a better fit but doesn’t always want to accept the leadership role with consistency. These players all seem like great guys and teammates but the walk doesn’t match the talk.
It just takes time. I think UK is a very good team, just not a great team
Well said. Just one All-American could elevate this team to a much higher level. Mashburm elevated the Unforgettables into an elite team, but it took that one super talent to make it happen with that wonderful hard working team of players.
The A:TO ratio in every gwme tells the tale, whether a win or a loss.
Vandy game is summed up in the A:TO ratio.
11:17 UK – terrible; not focused;
Pope said UK was lethargic
21:5 Vandy – sparkling ratio
6 & 16 add up to a total difference of 22 !!!
the vast difference in that stat alone is enough to account for the loss.
Yes, Carr is the most consistent player by far, and is really missed. Butler is not 100%, and missing the 2 key players would hurt any team.
If any player is lethargic at this stage in the season, they are a drain in the TEAM
Pope & his staff have done a marvelous job. Inconsistent play has de-railed the Cats
UK is trending in a dangerous direction…
0-2 in the last 2 games
2-3 in the last 5 games
7-4 in the last 12 games after 10-1 start
All the experience of a lot of good but not great talent will not produce a FF contender unless ALL the pieces contribute as 100% TEAM 1st players.
11:17 A:TO ratio with some players having 0 or 1 assist in 20+ minutes is NOT a TEAM player.
IF… IF… each and EVERY player is fully focused and a 100% TEAM 1st player, then UK can rally and be a contender to get to the E8 and a shot at rhe FF. If some continue to play 20+ minutes with 0 or 1 assist, then the S-16 is a long shot,
Way too many turnovers
Definitely! Devastating to miss out on so many possessions.
Pope needs to focus on the x and o’s and leave the life lessons, he pushes on the team, until after the season. The players have enough to think about during the season, save the gratitude, love each other and all that, for after the season. Don’t be another Bill Curry.
Well said Greg. Pope and staff need to spend more time on fundamental BB execution and less time on interviews. I don’t think everyone drinking the Kool aid.
Its official, we will be without Kriisa, Carr, and Butler at Tennessee. Kriisa and Carr are most likely out for the season. Butler is most likely out until March. The ONLY way for this team to win now is to play Pope ball and lots of zone. Perry, Chandler, and Noah will have to play major minutes. That bodes well for next year, but the wins will be few and far between for the rest of this season. Hero ball will not get it done.
Be thankful for what we got. We could be playing with the Arkansas roster. I would rather have what we’ve got. Go big blue!
Best perspective to have Bob