On his weekly radio show Monday night, coach Mark Pope insisted his players "care" about each other. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky coach Mark Pope and his squad are still going through growing pains two months into the season and Monday was a period of reckoning going into the first full calendar week of the new year.
In an effort to get on the same proverbial page, the Wildcats had a talking session during a film review of Saturday’s 89-74 loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference opener last Saturday. Pope said, “the biggest failure in communication is assuming you’ve done it.”
During times of adversity, the coach said, “everybody is telling themselves a story.” The vent session provided the Wildcats an opportunity to reach a “point of truth” and “a point of common understanding about what you’re experiencing and where the shortcoming is (and) where the pitfalls are.”
“That was actually a theme of our film today,” Pope said on his radio show Monday. “It’s really instructive, and it’s really powerful when you can bring a bunch of guys who are hearing so much noise from all different directions, whether it’s their inner circle or their agent or their friends or family or social media … hearing everybody’s take on things that is everything under the sun, and then bringing them together to kind of find a common understanding, help our guys understand how they should be telling themselves their story. That’s an important process.”
The Kentucky coach said those discussions are common for teams on a yearly basis and added his players understand the value of those heartfelt conversations.
“We’re fortunate to have to have really good guys that just care so much and they’re trying,” he said. “It was an intense day, a tough day, a hard workday, a long day, but a good day of finding some common ground.”
Pope added his players aren’t the group that’s being portrayed as a team that doesn’t get along on and off the court.
“That’s not true at all,” Pope said. “It’s interesting (and) it’s one of the brilliant things. Kentucky basketball is something we all care about so much and we talk about it all the time. I’m here with a group of people that pay attention to the details of Kentucky basketball.
“There’s this insatiable hunger for all of us to find new information. There are so many stories that kind of grow legs that actually just are real fabrications. This team is as close and cares as much about each other as any team I’ve ever been around and, in some ways, more.”
9 Responses
Get the next two home games and the sky’s will brighten !!
Paul, don't look now, but Mizzou is going to hang an "L" on us tomorrow night.
Coach Pope, just clean out the debris and the venters will be gone. Carousers the night before road games & players wrangling over someone who sleeps with multiple players are not quality people, lacking character and with no concern for UK or any TEAM.
Clean house & TEAM chemistry will
mysteriously suddenly appear among the olayera with proper character.
Having to have a "vent session" continues to show Pope still has no Clue or Control over this team. If you want to clean house it needs to start at the Top
We were over-sold on Pope because of his connections, and he over-sold his team as being great 3 pt shooting team and having a team worthy of Final 4 potential. Have we not had enough of Pope's psycho babble and him needing more time to figure things out? We are going thru the most embarrassing brand of basketball that UK has exposed in last 20 yrs and we expose it weekly. Pope is still in over his head!
I agree with you Mike! We were hearing before the season how Noah was hitting every three point shot he took and he’s on the far end of the bench, other players were making over 100 foul shots in a roll, we had the best Bigs in college ball, how we were going to get #9 and all the other BS we were getting fed! So why would BBN not be mad and disappointed?
I believe the Players are ignoring the Coaches and the Biggest Problem is Players are listening to their Agents and Family telling them how great they are and how they should be showing how they are the “Man”. I Loved how Alabama passed the ball and that’s why they had five players in double figures! When was the last time that happened with Kentucky?
If the people in Kentucky want to see a team that has a good coach and has players that play Hard and play team ball, watch the WKU Hilltoppers in Bowling Green! I wish They played the Cats this year it would be a game in how the Cats would learn what hustling ball players look like playing Team Ball! I have always Loved and been a Cats fan but I’ve watched the last four of their games and they make me proud of this Kentucky team and they have a good coach too.
Western knocked it out of the ballpark getting a Kentucky Kid from a little town called “Dry Ridge” he’s named Teagan Moore! He is only a 6’5” Sophomore who plays so hard and is everywhere on the floor, hitting big shots, averaging 18.2 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and shooting 48.5 from the floor! And we supposedly got the best with Noah?? When He’s in the game he’s standing in the corner looking like me watching from the upper deck! Noah wouldn’t start for Kentucky Wesleyan in Owensboro. I watched Noah all through high school and what has happened to Him??? I thought He should have gotten Player of the Year over Perry? Again? What has happened to this Kid? He’s the same age and size as Moore but he’s doesn’t have any fire and sits on the far end of the bench at Kentucky? Larry Tell Me and Everyone what’s going on with this kid?
Here is an eye opening fact: In his first 50 games, Billy Clyde Gilespie was 33-17. Mark Pope is also 33-17 in his first 50 games! We are so very close to becoming the next Indiana if it hasn't already happened!
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