Malachi Moreno (Vicky Graff Photo)
What is the morale of the Kentucky basketball team like after Wednesday’s 73-68 loss to Missouri that left coach Mark Pope’s team with an 0-2 Southeastern Conference record and 9-5 overall record?
The morale of the UK fan base is at rock bottom. The faith the national media has in coach Mark Pope’s team has hit rock bottom.
“Just trying to keep the guys together. I think tonight we showed a lot of fight but we still didn’t play our best basketball,” Kentucky freshman Malachi Moreno said after the Missouri loss. “A lot of people say our pace is very intermittent right now but again we have a lot of people coming back from injury and we’re trying to figure out the different spaces where guys fit. We’re just learning every day and we’re trying to make the most of it.”
But what about the team morale?
“I can fully and confidently say that we are going to bounce back. I don’t think there’s a single soul in the locker room that thinks we won’t. We’re all here together,” Moreno said.
Junior Brandon Garrison tried to be optimistic, too.
“We have to keep our heads high and try to forget about this game and go to practice tomorrow and get better and go and get this win on Saturday (against Mississippi State),” Garrison said.
Tulane transfer Kam Williams admitted UK’s pace was “a little messed up” during the team’s 15th game of the season.
“We were still trying to figure each other out. We have guys coming back from injury, we are figuring out where people fit, different lineups and everything. We are just figuring that part out right now,” Williams said.
Missouri did figure out how to overcome a 66-58 deficit in the final 4 1/2 minutes.
“They were just making shots and we were missing shots to sum it up. Pretty good guard play, good wings, good bigs. They played together. They knew where they wanted to go and, in late game scenarios, they found them,” Williams said.
It would seem knowing “where they wanted to go” is something any major college basketball team should be able to do — but obviously Kentucky has not got to the point where it can do that. Blame Pope. Blame injuries. Blame specific players. It doesn’t matter. Bottom line is that Kentucky is just not functioning the way it should.
Pope certainly knows that but seems to have no answers about how to fix the problems.
“I think I’m really stressing with our pace and our movement. I’m just really frustrated. We are emphasizing every day about sprinting the screens, sprinting the screens, sprinting the screen. It is like we are in molasses out there and we are trying to simplify and dumb things down,” Pope said after the Missouri loss.
“I’m disappointed with the pace and I’m disappointing in our willingness to get to the second side and I’m disappointed with our physicality ducking in. When we turn the corner on some of those things, we will be good. But we are not going to be good on the offensive side until we find some pace, we are just not.
“We found more space to play a little smaller than I thought we would in this game. We actually found some space to do it. I think when we did, we were effective. When you don’t have any pace, everything is easy. Ball screen defense is easy, screen aways are easy, flow action is easy when you don’t have any pace and we don’t have any pace right now.”
6 Responses
Lowe 1-5 from 3 & 2-11 overall.
The best 3 pt shooters on bench: Noah & Chandler.
Who takes the 3 pt shot to tie? Lowe.
Absolutely pathetic!!!
Just before that, Chandler made an awesome steal, only to see Oweh miss a layup. Chandler then gets benched.
Coach Pope has struck out too many times in a short time. I’m finished expecting a turn around. He and his staff chose this Group of mostly losers and let them run wild on their own selfish way.
Noah & Chandler should hit tht transfer portal.
I was so excited Pope was hired.
What an absolute collapse thanks mostly to the selfish, care free players he recruited.
Little Baron You are Totally Right!!!! Why did the Assistant Coach’s not grab “Pope The Dope” and tell him exactly what You just said would happen!!! Can’t wait to see “Pope The Dope” Leave!!!
Thanks, Rick. I started watching the Cars in Memorial Coliseum in the late 1950’d and have rolled with the WildCats thru thick & thin, and really wanted Pope to get it done. But the current state of UK BB is a total wreck. I’m ready to see some players with UK on their jersey who WANT TO WIN, WHO LIKE TO PLAY, WHO CANT STAND TO LOSE!!! A few haircuts might help some of the players see the basket better and hit some easy shots.
The number of missd layups and shots within a few feet of the basket is just oathetic. Too much hot digging in practice throwing the ball wild lily woeard the basket does not improve performance in games!!!
When Pope gets fired, everyone will leave. Whoever we end up with as a new head coach, we will be starting from the bottom of the barrel with no good kids wanting to come here. We may have to have open try-outs from the student body to field a team.
When “Pope The Dope” does leave there will be kids like it always has been that want to come for the name on the jersey. It may not be 3 million dollar guys with injuries but I will be happy with kids that may not be the top recruits and lose games but that’s what we have got now?
Players who want to wear the jersey will give 100% every game AND share the ball!!
These overpaid mediocre misfits are not at all interested in UK. Send them packing and just get fans in the stands to finish the season!