Mark Pope thought Travis Perry played well at Texas and he likely will make his second UK start tonight against Vanderbilt. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky coach Mark Pope isn’t concerned about his team’s ability to compete without two starters moving forward.
Pope saw the fight in his team in an 82-78 loss at Texas last Saturday. Playing without starters Lamont Butler and Jaxson Robinson, the No. 17 Wildcats led for most of the game before faltering down the stretch.
“I think the guys came to battle,” Pope said. “I think we knew what we were up against. I think our guys were really fixed on the challenge. I felt like our emotional energy was great the whole night.
“I thought our guys were here to compete and fight. I thought we had guys step up and make important plays. I’m really actually proud of our guys’ effort, for sure.
“Our execution stunk, in the last four minutes, absolutely, on both sides of the ball. Really it wasn’t even our execution, it was partly our execution, but our present-ness was poor.”
Freshman guard Travis Perry made the first start of his collegiate career against the Longhorns, while classmate Trent Noah also played significant minutes in the four-point setback. Perry and Noah have contributed valuable minutes on the court in the absence of Butler (shoulder) and Robinson (wrist).
“We have really good players,” Pope said. “Travis Perry stepped up and really battled like crazy tonight. Trent Noah is doing unbelievable work. These guys that are filling in spots, they’re really, really good players. We’re good enough to win. So we’re not allowing any space for any of that (negativity).”
Kentucky hosts Vanderbilt on tonight and will attempt to avenge an earlier-season loss to the Commodores. Following a 74-69 upset of the Wildcats on Jan. 25, Vanderbilt (17-8, 5-7) has struggled and has lost four of its past five games, including back-to-back losses to Auburn and Tennessee, respectively.
Pope is confident the Wildcats learned a lesson in the four-point loss to Texas and will be looking for a better outcome in similar encounters in the future.
“If we do this right, these moments are the moments that we’re going to get to replay again, and we’re going to do them right,” Pope said. “These guys are so emotionally invested, they put in so much energy, they’re so committed to each other, that they’ll figure this out.
“But, it’s about the guys that are on the court right now. And we have the guys to do this. We’re not spending any time thinking about anything else.”
3 Responses
It’s time to admit what nobody wanted to hear…this has been a rebuilding year and for the most part, a successful one. Any team would struggle with 3 key injuries, especially one that was totally constructed from scratch last Spring. Things could be worse. UConn, North Carolina, Kansas, Miami, Virginia, and Arkansas are all having worse seasons than we are. It was foolish to expect much more from a first year coach under these circumstances. Let’s win the games we can win, let the possible returnees for next year get as much PT as possible, hit the transfer portal again with the recruiting class we already have and hope for better luck with injuries next season. Go CATS!!!
You nailed it Barry. This season has been so much fun and to do what we have done with the injuries is remarkable.
Tonight’s win was a picture of what our season has been. The first half we simply tried to outscore Vandy and barely did. That is why we lost to Georgia, Vandy, and Texas, but all of those games were winnable. To think what could have been! The second half we come out scoring, rebounding, and defending and shut Vandy down. Why don’t they play that way all of the time? I am so glad that Chandler had a good game. He may very well start at Bama and draw Sears to guard. Hopefully Carr can slow down Nelson who was the difference at Rupp. Missouri looks unbeatable in Columbia. They play defense with hatchets and the refs look the other way. The Tide has lost 2 in a row now and Oats will be up their asses for a win on Saturday. Bama is beatable, but we have to defend and rebound from the jump in addition to scoring. Keeping turnovers to single digits will be necessary for a win in football country. Oh, we hit all of our freethrows tonight! Where has that effort been all season? We will definitely need that against Bama. Great win! It’s always gratifying to beat the Common Doors! Let’s take tonight’s second half fight to Tuscaloosa and bag some elephants! You can’t eat them but they look nice when stuffed and put in your study! Go CATS!!!