UK will be fighting for their first SEC win tonight. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Kentucky coach Mark Pope has had his share of frustrations this season, but hasn’t given up on his squad after the Wildcats lost their first two Southeastern Conference games to open league play.
Pope said “there’s no time for indulging in feeling terrible” after spending “a lot of time feeling like I’d like to curl up in bed and kill myself.”
“That’s actually not what we do,” Pope said Friday responding to a question regarding mental fatigue and the team’s late letdown in a loss to Missouri earlier this week. “We raise up, we get to work and we find answers. That’s actually where the great part of life comes from, is answering the bell when everybody thinks you can’t do it, shouldn’t do it, won’t do it (and) aren’t going to do it.
“Most people are too scared to go there. We’re not. I wish we weren’t here right now, but it’s where we are and it’s us rising up and doing so. There’s no time. There’s no hangover. That’s not acceptable. It’s not OK.”
Kentucky (9-6, 0-2) carries a two-game losing streak into tonight’s conference encounter against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs (10-5, 2-0) have won their first two league games, a 101-98 overtime win at Texas, and a 72-53 rout of Oklahoma earlier this week in Starkville.
The Wildcats blew an eighth-point lead in the last four minutes of a 73-68 loss to Missouri earlier this week. Despite the setback, the team’s second loss at home this season, Pope said the team’s shot quality against the Tigers was an encouraging sign.
“The reason that’s exciting is because it shows progress,” Pope said. “The reason why it’s not exciting is because it sure didn’t feel like that. That’s part of the ugly, ugly revamped way to kind of earn space and gravity that we’re trying to work through right now and we’re not. We haven’t arrived on a final answer.”
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Gametracker: Mississippi State at Kentucky, 8:30 p.m., Saturday. TV/Radio: SECN, UK Radio Network.
8 Responses
Quaintence is out now.. Bad Bad Bad
Feinbaum gives Pope a D grade and probably is a little generous. Pope looks awful relaxed in last presser and guess doing lot of practicing. We will see how long that lasts with 2nites L.
Im not real confidence in that regard. Unless the players decide to brush all the fiasco that happen to the side and decide to play ball like there capable of doing.
Pope needs to quit and walk away. This is too much for him. Then we need to fire Mitch.
The best 5 line up has been Moreno, Jelavic, Williams, Oweh, and Johnson. Chandler is having trouble guarding Henderson and Aberdeen is playing hero ball. Garrison tries to force passes and Dioubate still wants to jack up 3s. Lowe's absence has been a plus.
Williams turned the first half around with not only his offense, but he showed very good defense on guards and wings. Jelavic has been a steadying force on defense and gives us better spacing on offense. Moreno is still learning, but his effort has been a difference maker. Not sure why Noah hasn't played in over 3 weeks?
We win this game with Moreno, Jelavic, Williams, Oweh, and Johnson playing 14+ minutes as a unit in the second half.
Correction…Hubbard not Henderson.
I'd love to see the ball barely touch the floor.. these guys dribble the hide off it… like they have a dribble quota.. makes for ugly games.
That's what Kentucky is supposed to do with Miss. St. and should have done with Missouri. Playing Jelavic gives the team better balance on offense and defense. This was Oweh and Moreno's best game. Aberdeen had a decent second half. Williams changed the whole look of the game. We showed signs of offensive and defensive cohesiveness finally.
Did anyone else notice Dioubate pouting on the bench and in the huddles in the second half? We definitely looked better with Jelavic and Williams on the floor. Why did Pope finally put Noah in only to take him out 20 seconds later? We did not miss JQ or Lowe at all tonight. If either is able to return to action, they need to do so in reserve roles. I think Lowe is done for the year and that might not be such a big loss. The stronger guards were taking him to the basket and he was helpless.
This was a MUST win and we got it. Pope needs to watch this game tape a couple of times and see where we clicked and when we didn't. Go to LSU and get another win and then be ready to do battle in Knoxville. Then we face a Texas team that beat Bama at Bama! The key for this team is to get off to a fast start…which we did not do tonight. There is a lot for Pope to glean from this win. Hopefully, he will connect some dots.
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