Kentucky Out-Coached, Out-Hustled in Shocking Loss to Arkansas

18 Responses

1. I think they definitely got outplayed…Physically they are not up to par….Brea has lost his touch…Carr isn’t up to par…Tonight hr was epwearing a back brace after the game…Pope may not always make the right moves but when Ky is hitting their shots they can beat anyone…They proved against Duke and Tenn..I will continue to watch. Them….Pope took on a big job as Ky coach esp as young as he is. Just pray for the cats and don’t give up. The sun will shine soon

2. This article is so right on all points. Noah should have went on to South Carolina. I’m so sick of the No Hustle Defense and Terrible Coaching! Just a Shameful showing in front of all the fans that yelled their heads off and like me watched on tv and others who listened to the radio. I’ve been so disappointed in Kentucky Basketball for so many games in the last 6 years and it’s the same old same old. I’ve followed most of my 70 years UK basketball from first listening to games on the radio while sitting on my Grandpa’s lap and it’s time to stop. I am through….

   1. Rick you will be back, when Pope was hire me and my brother chat how long will it take Pope get the program back on top and we said 3 years. We’ll he’s done a Hell of job in year 1 and we’re not done yet. Pope said there will be bumps into the season and he’s been honest about that. Just remember this is SEC and anybody can be on given night. Go cats!!

3. Hey Larry I forgot to add to my comment that I appreciate your hard work and writings but I’m going to delete yoursportsedge.com also. I don’t even want to read anything about UK Basketball or Football again. My last years will be enjoying Family, Church, hunting & fishing 😁 Thanks Larry!

   1. Keep the faith Rick. Do not delete. Just take a little break and then come on back

4. Reaching that same point myself after tonight, Rick! This felt like the dead-end of some long, dark road that we have been traveling for an eternity, but then it also felt like some twisted, evil, come-full-circle moment that was the result of repeated loops of the same old same old same old that we have been living thru for years. One thing I do know–tonight was the unofficial end of this season–in other words, the handwriting is on the wall for how good this team can be. And it seems, based on what I hear via radio, Butler may be done for the season. I mean, you can’t expect to make a tournament run with your only true starting PG out, and you saw tonight how this team is affected without Butler out there. We got very fortunate to escape TN with a win with him not playing–and u can’t expect to get by every single game the rest of the year under those circumstances. Robinson has AT TIMES looked as though he was capable of maybe putting this team on his back and taking everybody else with him–but it’s never consistent, it never lasts. He ends up just disappearing in the second half tonight after starting off playing pretty well in the first half. And alot of people seem to just dismiss the importance of some of these guys being out as far as how it’s going to affect the team. Butler being out was a critical factor in this loss tonight, and again, that was a clear reality when watching the game. People arent going to want to hear it, but the honeymoon is over now, unfortunately, for Mark Pope after this damn loss–this loss here has changed the season and changed the trajectory and direction of our program. And I say all that with also saying nobody loves Mark Pope more than I do. But this was something that just couldn’t happen. I know people have varying opinions on all this, and I guess maybe mine isn’t real popular–but this was the one game on the schedule Mark Pope COULD NOT LOSE. He would have been in less hot water losing to LOU than losing this one. And this was the one year where if u had given me the choice I would have rather lost to LOU this year than ARK. If u are KY, u just cant lose the very first game that CAL comes back to Rupp to coach against u in at ARK. The national media and press are going to have a field day over this game–all the networks and the sports people like ESPN & SEC are gonna be writing stories, making calls, sending messages……hell, I mean, u see right now some of our former "CATS" who played for CAL are sending him or sending out to the general public little cutsie-pie messages or little zingers congratulating their Coach on his big win—but in doing that, they’re congratulating ARK’s program, not KY’s. This is where u get into how times have changed and the loyalty is gone or not the same anymore–and this is a clear example: it’s ex-KY players congratulating CAL for winning at another school when they just BEAT KY. U know, for ppl like us true die-hards, that’s just another version of "draft night is the greatest night in KY BBALL history", or "I don’t really care about the SEC Tournament, it’s an unnecessary hassle in my life even though I am the KY coach and I have to be there to go thru it". But it’s like now the cool thing for CAL’s ex-CATS to do is to show a public support for Coach Cal, but to also trash the UK BBALL program while doing so……… Uhhhh, well,guys, I hate to tell u, but playing at UK is what put u all on the map in the first place and gave u all a start in launching your pro career. U might not necessarily love UK, but recognize your college team if u are going to recognize your COACH! I am over this exclusive loyalty to Coach Cal where "I pledge my allegiance only to HE, and therefore I cut myself off and withdraw any kind of support for anything or anybody else–I’m not allowed to support or show any loyalty to anybody else or anything else except COACH CAL". I mean, that’s exactly how all of these guys act. I will say this before I close: the UK fan base is going to be a lot better off once John Calipari retires. We really aren’t going to have any peace from this issue with him as until he is FINISHED, DONE, FINITO. With the fact he went to another SEC school to coach, it keeps him still pretty "in the mix" in the daily UK sports world, because we, BBN, regularly keep up with the SEC goings-on. Plus the fact his team is going to be on our schedule at least once a year as opposed to if he had just retired when he left KY–then he would be out-of-sight, out-of-mind, once and for all–and I don’t believe BBN can fully rest until he is retired and out of the game for good. Not until seeing what transpired at the arena tonight between our fans and CAL and their players did I realize how still so many things about him move and affect our fan base–it was actually an odd vibe in there. IDK if I have ever seen or felt anything like that in that arena before. That crowd was honest-to-GOD TENSE!!! It may be the most tension I have ever felt in that bldg and it was as if every fan in there was standing in wait with their pitchforks waiting for CAL to come out–and once he did–it was a very sketchy vibe indeed. Just seeing that made me realize how there are so many other ppl out there like me who feel a similar disdain for this man—and who, like me, have some of my own personal reasons or personal grievances with him–but alot of them are like just the basic things that alot of ppl talk about, such as being tired of hearing about first Rd NBA draft picks after one year, and his former players sending tweets and messages reminding us in Big Blue Nation that they ride or die with Coach Cal—-well that’s great, u can ride or die with CAL all u want to, WE JUST DONT CARE TO HEAR ABOUT THAT ANYMORE—BECAUSE WE RIDE OR DIE WITH BIG BLUE NATION –and BIG BLUE NATION is and always will be bigger and more together than CAL’S CLAN of former KY CATS now playing in the NBA, or any of his other fan "believers" –and the true ex-KY WILDCATS who were part of the program before CAL’s time here, all of them will always tell u that KY and BBN always comes first for them–no matter what–above all else and all others–KY BBALL IS KING…….And that’s what makes KY BBALL what it is!!

5. The previous comments on Pope and UK basketball team are negative comments that should be left should be said, but not repeatedly.

   Basketball like any other sports is a physical, but also a psychological game and if we’re going to tear them down and tell us that they are not going to watch anymore… Don’t watch boys I am going to watch and I’m going to root for Pope and the players. You guys like puff the magic dragon silently slip into your cave Jim Ney DMD, UK under graduate class of 1970!

6. Im too disgusted to read other comments – though I will later today – but sure am disappointed as well as frustrated with this loss to lowly ARK.

   Trent Noah. Enough said. Just that name should stir up a lot of BBN angst – remember his super performance vs TN – the highly ranked UK beat a few days ago ON THE ROAD!!!

   I’ve been & will remain a big Pope fan, but he needs called out for FAILURE to play Noah!!!
   Inexcusable!!!

   Perry should have gotten more minutes. Brea was a klutz losing the ball, shot a BAD LONG 3 when a big man was waiting for the ball near the basket. SELFISH AND DUMB!!!

   Oweh & Brea were NOT ready to play – not focused, bad shooting – so why not Perry who was 1-2, hitting his only 3 attempt.

   If not for Williams, UK gets beat by 25. Almonar & Robinson also contributed.

   UK beat TN on the road, without Butler, without a healthy Carr & without Krissa. Most of the players simply proved they do not wear UK on their jersey with pride and jlhave no clue or even care how significant some games are to the UK fans.

   One & Done is not going to get many players to be True Blue UK die hards.

   Lethargic uninspired play is unacceptable. It shows they have no respect for UK on their jersey. Perry & Noah, Williams & Almonar and Carr and Butler are great. I have some reservation about the consistent fight in others. Oweh can be great or lethargic. Same with Robinson.

   Either wear the jersey with pride or tell the coach you need a week off so you can focus on whatever nonsense that keeps you from caring about the game you are playing!!

   1. LB, I didn’t mean to ignore your comments, you must have posted them while I was composing mine.

7. Ok, where do I start? It has to be with the culture that has been created by our RAH RAH fan base. You know who you are…Don’t say anything negative about our team! Mark Pope is our coach and he can do no wrong! This is KENTUCKY, our kids can do no wrong! Anyone who says different is not a true Kentucky fan! RAH, RAH, RAH!!!

   Respect and success have to be earned, it cannot be bestowed. To be fair to Coach Pope, this first season was stacked against him. The "love in" that he received in Rupp Arena was ridiculous! Pope had not accomplished anything, yet he had already been crowned as the Grand PooPah of college basketball. Sure, he had to move across country, assemble a coaching staff, and then assemble a team at the very last minute. Pope and his newly assembled team were all saying the right things, but had yet to do anything in a Kentucky uniform. Teams need time to mesh together, but they also need focus, structure, and discipline. BBN, me included, embraced this team as world beaters way too soon. We played way too many cupcake games and needed to play more true road games in November and December. Sure, we played and beat Duke, Gonzaga, and Louisville, but we lost ugly games to Clemson, Ohio State, and Georgia. We barely beat Florida, a great win, but them scoring 100 points in that game should have been a big red warning sign of things to come.

   We have a bi-polar team. We do not like to play defense. We do not like to box out and rebound. We are careless with the ball. We don’t stay focused at the foul line. We can play Pope ball and win every time we do, but we seem to think the other team should just quit and not fight for the win, and especially not make us fight for the win. We revert to playing hero ball every time we get smacked in the mouth. I guess it’s what they have learned over the years. Playing Pope ball is not a natural thing in the age of OAD, the transfer portal, and NIL, but the teams who do so…Auburn, Alabama, and Duke are at the top of the rankings. We are what we are. Pope should not take all of the blame for that, but he has to learn that he has to be the COACH…he can’t be everyone’s buddy. Being positive has its place, but kids need to be coached to do things they don’t necessarily want to do. It’s too late to address that with this team, but it has to be his focus for next year. Just do one thing…let Noah and Chandler have more PT, they are likely to be your only returnees for next year.

   So what for the rest of this season? Based on what I have seen to date, we will lose at Ole Miss, beat South Carolina and Tennessee, lose to Texas and Vanderbilt, beat Alabama, lose to Oklahoma, beat Auburn and LSU, and lose to Missouri ending the season with a 5-5 record over our last 10 games. We will play a Thursday game in the SEC tourney and I have no idea of what to expect there. The NCAA tourney will most likely be a one weekend affair. Not what we had hoped for, but what we most likely will get. So what in year 2 of the Pope era?

   Pope has to realize that he has to recruit kids who are tough minded defenders and are willing to sacrifice on offense for the good of the team. They should be pass first guys who stay in constant motion on the offensive end…this will produce good shots in the first 15 seconds of the time clock. Defense, rebounding, valuing the ball, and foul shots need to be the focus of Summer practice. This sets the foundation for the rest of the season. At a minimum Pope will need to get a center, 2 power forwards, a small forward, a shooting guard, and a point guard from the portal. He needs to focus on recruiting sophomores…kids who will have at least 2 more years of eligibility. A winning program has to have continuity and commitment. We lose 6 seniors for sure. Will Oweh and Garrison return…I don’t know. I doubt that Perry will stay and he probably shouldn’t…he can’t defend at the SEC level. I think Chandler and Noah will return to join Lewis, Johnson, and Moreno. I think Ament goes elsewhere.

   Start with the fundamentals in Summer practice. Get the kids in the weight room to bulk up for SEC play. Get them in shape. Let them know in the recruiting phase…You play my way or you don’t play period. You come to Kentucky to win championships.

   As for Rick and James comments, I feel your frustration, disappointment, and outright embarrassment. Last night will rank in the lowest of lows ever witnessed in Rupp Arena. Billy Clyde didn’t stoop this low. We let the last place team in the SEC come into our gym and score 25 points above their season average. They were making 6 three pointers a game, we let them make 13! We reverted back to hero ball in the second half and lost the game. I am not sure this season can be salvaged…another double digit loss season with poor tourney showings. When this season comes to an end, put it in the record books for what it was…a Mulligan season. Our 2025/26 season will most likely begin on March 24 of this year. Learn from this season and commit to doing the right things right….starting March 24. Nothing is guaranteed, everything will have to be earned. Coach K was not a winner in his first season at Duke, neither was Dean Smith at North Carolina. I still think Coach Pope was the right hire for us, even though The FRAUD will heehaw about last night’s game until his dying day. All is not lost for our program, but let’s wait about crowning ourselves as the 2025/26 national champion until April of 2026. Change has to start with all of us if we are not too pompous to admit it. Go CATS!!!

   1. As usual, a thorough and accurate assessment of the game.

      So many questions remain about this I CONSISTENT “group of players” who are a TEAM 1st when they want to be and just a “fractured group of players” when most are on their own and not dedicated to UK.

      1. Well guys the negative sayers the sun rose up did it. I will cheer the cats on regardless that’s what a true UK fan is. Bashing the team and the coach does no good it just show how miserable you are.

         1. You don’t qualify to say who is or is not a real UK fan. The days of the woke libs being unable to accept facts are coming to a close.

            Over 3/4 century been a Big Blue fan – alumni – specialized degree in a highly intellectual department where only 20% of the original freshmen class made through to get a degree. Born & raised Kentuckian. Personally have attended games to see some of the greatest BB players in history – of course UK loaded with Cotton Nash, Pat Riley, Louie Dampier, Big Dan Issel, Mike Pratt, Mike Casey, Terry Mills, Dirk Minniefield, Jeff Sheppard, Scott Padgett, Jamal Mashburn, Richie Farmer, Travis Ford, Joh Pelphrey, Deron Feldhau, Thad Jared, Larry Conley, Walker, Delk, Epps, Cameron Mills, Jon Hood (sabotaged by the fraud as were many native Kentuckians), Romnie Lyons, Jim Andrews, Nazr Mohammad – so many great teams – Rupps Runts, Unforgettables & more – too many to name – and so many greats who played in Rupp Arena & Memorial Coliseum – Jerry West, Jerry Lucas, John Havlecek, Bill
            Bradley, the great Pistol Pete, and many on other courts – the Big “O” to top the list. Traveled to multiple SEC venues & SEC Tournaments, NCAA Regionals & more.. I’ve been a Big Blue fan through all sorts of situations – and still all it like it is. Rupp did not mince words when the Card played poorly. He even told the players at half time of one game “let me introduce you to Dan Issel, All-American – pass the ball to him!”

            Let each fan decide how dedicated he is.

            GO BIG BLUE!!!

            1. Little Baron,congratulations on your background, you can minced all your words. We’re still doing a helllva lot better than most people have thought. Hopefully we can get everybody healthy and get on a roll in this tough conference. It’s anybody game on any given night.

            2. The only people that u can call out and say for sure are NOT "TRUE" KY FANS are the ones who have gotten on here to openly cheer the ARK victory and the ARK coach and openly mock KY’s embarrassment and pain over the loss (see comments on other game article). People like that I guarantee u are not TRUE KY fans because of all the TRUE KY FANS that I have known in my life, none of them have ever or would ever cheer against KY or openly cheer an opposing coach or team against KY, or openly cheer on an ex-KY coach when they come back to play and coach AGAINST KY after moving to coach at a different program. That’s just a code that all of us know with TRUE KY FANS always rings true. For TRUE KY FANS, it’s ALWAYS KENTUCKY FIRST—-just like the new. slogan for the country—AMERICA FIRST. Anybody on any KY fan sites who are openly cheering against KY but who claim to be KY fans are just FRAUDS–much like the coach that they were cheering on to victory against KY last night. Anybody who was cheering for CAL last night, and who posts on a KY site about being happy about his win and mocking KY over the loss is definitely NOT A KY FAN, and they belong with the group of CAL’s ex-KY NBA players who publicly sent out messages to CAL last night congratulating him for beating the program they played in college for, and some were even rocking ARK gear to show their loyalty!!! Because that’s LOYALTY, alright!!! And I’m sure ARK fans are happy about the win—but theyll learn: if CAL is your coach, he is so powerful that he will change the name of your school: for as long as he’s there, it’s no longer the University of ARK, it’s CAL UNIVERSITY–2-6 record in the SEC be damned. I mean, priorities, for crying out loud! But that’s what happens when CAL is your coach–and that’s why right now KY is left struggling with its first-ever identity crisis—because at the time CAL was hired at KY, the world was totally different–and back then, there was no such thing as "factions" of KY fans, who would divide themselves between loyalty for the bball program and loyalty for one individual coach. That had never happened in the history of KY BBALL–not with Rupp, Hall, Sutton, Pitino, Tubby, not even with Gillispie! But u know, COACH GOD came along and changed all that, because is a trend-setter man—thats why some ppl refer to him as Coach GOD because he has proven the ability to turn a portion of the KY fan base, and even some of our own players, AGAINST 100% allegiance and loyalty to the UK BBALL program in exchange for selling out that allegiance and loyalty and submitting fully to his will instead and demanding 100% allegiance and loyalty to HIM and everybody in his camp. He was the first KY coach to ever be so powerful enough to have the ability to create a change like that–to conquer, and divide–and thats what he did, he conquered us, then he divided us, then he left us to pick up the pieces and to deal with that, then he came back for his very first trip back and kicked our ass to boot. I always thought KY fans were above what he did to us, and were smarter than that, but thats an example of many more of those kind of things that have happened in our country and society the last 5-10 yrs. Its a smaller-scale size example and smaller-scale size symptom of a large-scale societal, spiritual, and cultural problem in this country. Just like I said "I thought KY fans were better than that, or sharper/smarter than that"–well, there have been many instances the last 5-6 yrs where I have said "I thought the AMERICAN PEOPLE were better than that, and smarter/sharper than that"!!! LOL Although I think a lot of them now are learning!!!! We all both as KY fans and as U.S. citizens need to remember the only answer there ever is is to COME TOGETHER, BE UNITED, BE HELPFUL AND BE SUPPORTIVE OF EACH OTHER, STAND TALL, WORK HARD, AND TRY TO LEARN A LITTLE MORE EACH AND EVERY DAY, AND TRY TO GET BETTER EACH AND EVERY DAY–with whatever each of us are tasked with doing, in and with our lives every day–that’s all any of us can ever hope for or try to do every day!

   2. After 5 games, I thought UK had a FF contender developed by Coach Pope & his select staff. Unfortunately, too many players have not truly bought in at 100% and still have their own interest first and o to come to play of & when they want to.

      I thought UK was a S16 lock and now I wonder if they can string 3 consecutive IMPORTANT games together. Sad to say too many of the players with a lot of minutes have not shown they will be ready to play 3 games in a row.

      Just look at the A:TO ratio when UK loses AND look at individual ratios even when a player may score a lot. Just shooting and not passing will fracture the TEAM 1st approach and continue to result in inconsistent play.

8. This was a disgusting, totally embarrassing beat down on the national stage and Pope and Team deserve to be called out for this. I am wondering if Pope’s first comments to the team might have been "aw shucks we let one get away" The man just has no change of demeanor ever. He shows no sense of emotion or urgency and the team played just like that. However, the coach is a good clapper. More to follow later.

9. Consistently inconsistent. This is the " momentum " factor I spoke of and being agnostic or probably to describe it better a non believer in it.. This team shatters that premise. Butler sorely missed . Amari played like a stud. I think you are looking at a different result with Butler , but you dance with the girl you brought.. next game Ole Miss.. I’m not going to dwell.. we lost ..I don’t dwell on wins.. As I just stated the other day on here.. Players say they here the noise and use it as motivation.. I’m not a believer in that. Get better at basketball for the sake of getting better at basketball. Not because of what the media or fans say. Don’t be influenced by peripheral voices. If you are then you are weak.

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