Rick Pitino (Vicky Graff Photo)
For those covering Kentucky basketball now who were not on the UK beat when Rick Pitino was coaching the Wildcats it might have been a surprise when Pitino “lectured” the media Saturday in Atlanta.
Pitino now coaches St. John’s and his team lost to Kentucky and coach Mark Pope, his former player at UK who was captain of Kentucky’s 1996 national championship team.
Kentucky was a preseason top 10 team that lost non-conference games to rival Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina and Gonzaga — a 35-point loss that sent panic through Big Blue Nation. Now Kentucky has beat Indiana and St. John’s in its last two games by holding both teams under 70 points (60 by Indiana, 66 by St. John’s).
Sophomore Jayden Quaintance played for the first time this season for Kentucky against St. John’s and had 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 18 minutes. Point guard Jaland Lowe also had 13 points in the second half after barely playing in the first half after re-injuring his shoulder.
Pitino has a close relationship with Pope and applauded UK for hiring him after John Calipari left. So it was not a huge surprise that Pitino took a few jabs at the media for the criticism Pope has been getting for his team’s start — even if he’s had three starters out with injuries most of the season.
‘I think you all need to learn a little bit of a lesson as writers because you’re expecting Kentucky to be this great basketball team with all those injuries. So you all need to learn a lesson because you can’t be a great basketball team without two of your best players, with no point guard, no big men,” Pitino said in his media conference after UK’s win over his team in Atlanta.
“So I think everybody really exaggerates one game or two games or three games. Kentucky got blown out, and usually Kentucky doesn’t get blown out of any game, okay. But you have to look at it when they come back, two gigantic pieces.”
Remember Pope was praised for his roster construction in the summer when it appeared the Cats would be two-deep at every position before injuries changed that — until Saturday.
Pope also has accepted that is not a good 3-point shooting team — Kentucky is shooting under 25 percent from 3 in games against major opponents. Now the coach has redefined his team to lean on defense and inside scoring.
“I think Mark did a brilliant thing. He came into the season thinking he had this great shooting team, and it’s obvious that it’s probably just an average shooting team, and he said, ‘I’ll change the whole mindset. We’re going to be a physical team. We’re going to be a tough team,’ and they totally changed the personality of who they are,” Pitino said Saturday.
“I think that’s a brilliant move by Mark. That’s all he talks about, the physicality and toughness. I think he made a change, and the injury guys have come back. Makes them a much better basketball team.”
Pitino thinks a lot more wins are coming for Kentucky, too.
“They’re going to have to keep playing smash mouth basketball and play like that physical team, and I give Mark all the credit in the world because he’s a big believer in finesse, big believer in shooting the 3, and he says, ‘Look, hey, it’s not working, let’s change, man.’ So, I give him an awful lot of credit,” Pitino said.
10 Responses
I think lot of people have also forgot that Owen was injury during preseason practice and that set him back some that may have contribute his slow start.
Yet it didn't stop him from being selfish..
You’re right, Grant! It’s a constant.
Apparently you guys are not watching Aberdeen he's theone thats holding the ball tell time is ticking. At least Owen is coming around being himself as a scorer
A win is a win, but we have not solved our problems…we just got lucky. The first half was as ugly a game as I have ever witnessed. In the second half, we were having great difficulty in just getting the ball in play. JQ makes a second half appearance and dominates the offensive boards. We weren't running any plays for him; he just cleaned up 5 misses from hero ball play and scored with thunderous dunks. His defense also made an impact, but the Johnnies scored 2 more points in the second half than they did in the first. Lowe came in the second half and played more hero ball than not, but he was quick enough to get his shots up and make them. Williams makes two 3s and adds 5 freethrows. Those 3 scored 34 of our 53 second half points, but it mostly came from hero ball and luck. Did we emerge from that game with a game plan that could be duplicated? I don't think so. St. John's did not have a true point guard to neutralize Lowe…many SEC teams will have that. Can we count on JQ being focused enough to retrieve most of the hero ball missed shots and turn them into buckets? For sure, he will get some of them, but can we actually run an offense through him? I guess that will be the assignment for the Bellarmine game. Can we count on Williams to repeat his second half performance? Maybe, but a "hot" hand can go cold quickly.
Again, a win is a win and we desperately needed that win, but did we actually get better or just got lucky? The Johnnies scored 2 more points in the second half than in the first, so our defense wasn't the answer. We scored 28 more points in the second half than in the pitiful first half, but it all came from hero ball as we only had 13 assists for the entire game. Chandler and Noah didn't score the entire game. Johnson only had 2 points and Aberdeen 4. Garrison only had 4 points and 2 rebounds. Oweh got his 20 but it came on 6-17 shooting. Where is the blueprint for a win at Bama or Tennessee? How about Florida, Auburn, or A&M? Can we contain the high octane offenses of Georgia and Vanderbilt? We still have work to do. Currently, we are a ship without a rudder; Pope is supposed to be that rudder. There is very little chemistry with this team as each kid tries to assert himself as a leader instead of finding a formula for team wins.
Can Pope figure this out? Maybe, but he looks more lost than confident right now. We still don't have a 2026 signing as no kid in their right mind wants to play for Pope based on what they have seen so far this season. Relying on the transfer portal for a complete team makeover each season is not a strategy. Coach Pope, you have 17 more games to get this team capable of a decent showing in the SEC tourney and the Big Dance. Finishing as an "also ran" team will not keep your job safe. Get to work!
There's time to get better as long we have our roster fully healthy Barry. Your expectation doesn't come overnight with all the injuries the cats have endure
This team just hedges on Lowe's health. Imo he doesn't play hero ball although he has a few times done a bit too much. However, Kam's 3s were Lowe's passes and Chandler missed an open one in the corner off a beautiful feed. Aberdeen is a huge problem on offense, but it's really not his fault, he's a SG. Still think Pope missed a true backup PG on the roster. And it wasn't Perry. Lewis, yes, but we probably should have found something after he left. In my mind, Pitino, Pope, and Beard (Ole Miss) all messed this up.
I think Johnson can get the job done as a guard, but Pope dont give him a chance to prove it yet
Agree, Shoulda picked up another true PG in the portal. If Williams can get back in the high 30’s percentile would represent the best Christmas present for the Pope.
If Lowe wants to just shoot free throws and run during practice – LET HIM !
2 great players left on the recruiting board – all we need is 2.
Pope must have read the above 🤯
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