Denzel Aberdeen got on the floor to battle for a loose ball against Indiana. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Remember when Mark Pope was named coach at Kentucky, and he said he not only expected criticism if his team did not play well but would welcome it.
He certainly has been getting his share of criticism locally and nationally this season due to losses to Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, and Gonzaga. After the 45-point loss to Gonzaga, even former UK All-American DeMarcus Cousins posted on social media that UK was playing with “no heart.”
Kentucky didn’t play that way in a 72-60 win over Indiana Saturday when it went after loose balls, ran the court, and made all the energy/hustle plays that had been missing a lot in UK’s first 10 games.
“Listen, I don’t shy away from the truth, even when it hurts. You might as well own it, so we try to own it as a team. We talked about it. This is no time to deflect comments like that from people who love this program. DeMarcus loves this program. He is proud of this place. He wants these guys to represent,” Pope said after the Indiana win.
“So you own it. We’ve had a lot of conversations with the team about, guys, this is actually what we are putting on the court right now. And I think the quicker you own it, the quicker that you can change it.”
Pope liked the changes he saw against Indiana from his team energy-wise.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the way these guys won the game tonight because it was ugly and full of heart and intensity,” Pope said after the win. “We finished the half and there was no energy in the gym.”
He called it a “mucked-up, foul-riden, slow-as-molasses game” at halftime when UK trailed by seven points.
“We have to embrace this personality for a while, I think. I do think we have a chance to grow into an elite offensive team. I just don’t think it’s gonna happen tomorrow,” Pope said.
Obviously, UK fans would agree with his offensive assessment, but at least UK did get a win to build some momentum for Saturday’s game in Atlanta against St. John’s.
“One of the things that we have been disappointed in is in high level games we have been very poor in our response to adversity. We just haven’t rallied around each other. We’ve had some go away instead of dig in and I thought that was the opposite tonight,” Pope said after the Indiana win.
“We are going to need to continue to practice that … it’s actually a practice skill and we are going to need to continue to talk about it and make it a real thing so that when it happens, it’s not a surprise and we know how we are going to react. I was proud of the guys and that’s where we are going to have to live. It’s cool. I love living here. This is awesome.”
13 Responses
Congratulations…You hustled and got on the floor for loose balls.. Is this what its distilled down to now? Making mention of something like hustling? I thought that was inherent. I also saw the UK team posing for a team photo after Indiana win looking all cool arms folded fingers doing whatever. Nothing like showing humility after a victory. Hard to believe 2 games prior you had your ass handed to you by Gonzaga and now you are posing. For what? Hustling? Im over this shit. Can't do it anymore.
I did it for free.
So, they arent allowed to be happy after a hard fought win? Posing and taking a picture after the game is normal, not like they were celebrating like they won a championship. I recall the 98 team suckin in the non-conference and went on to win it all. So, if you want to live in the past where we were missing three starters, go ahead. Dont think we need a "fan" like you anyway.
Ya ya ya..put the rose colored glasses on. Calling it like I see it..
Saturday night may be the same kind of ugly rock fight as neither team can score against a good defense. They will get to punk Bellarmine on Tuesday, but the following Saturday we go to Bama. Hopefully, they will call the game at halftime.
They'll let the clock run.
Just read that we lost out on getting Collins, and it might be easy to conclude that Stokes has been playing us along also. We have the school and the platform, but the coaching ability and recruiting ability still very big question marks.
Between the JMI mess and our team playing like it has, nobody will come to Kentucky for all of the tea in China!
Come on guys the world is not ending. LOL
79, we don't have the rose colored glasses that you wear, lol.
79, do you ever feel like a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a 10 gallon bucket of chocolate?
Lol..
Our biggest problem, imo, is we're soft and we have no inside presence.
If Garrison, Mo and JQ can all get it going, we'll be a lot better. JQ could be a season changer.
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