Mark Pope's demeanor might be better suited for NBA players instead of college players according to former UK All-American Kenny Walker. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Former Kentucky All-American Kenny Walker knows UK fans were unhappy with how coach Mark Pope’s team had played much of this season and some were even questioning if Pope should be back for a third season before Kentucky’s upset win at Arkansas last Saturday.
“I am not one to get into anything about firing anyone. I know it takes a special player to be the coach at Kentucky with all the press (media) and great coaches you are following and being compared to all of them,” said Walker. “Those are some big shoes to fill. I want the best for him. He’s a good guy, a former UK player.”
Walker played in the 1984 Final Four at Kentucky and was a consensus first-team All-American in 1986. He was a two-time SEC Player of the Year and the fifth overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft who won the NBA slam dunk contest in 1989. He scored 2,080 points, grabbed 942 rebounds, handed out 153 assists, blocked 122 shots and made 118 steals in 132 career games at Kentucky. He trails only Dan Issel (2,138) and Jack Givens (2,080) on UK’s all-time scoring list.
His 1984 team lost 63-58 at Tennessee, a game Walker knew UK should have won. It reminded him of the 80-55 beatdown that Kentucky took at Vanderbilt last week.
“After the game we got into the locker room and there was UK president Otis Singletary and athletic director Cliff Hagan along with (coach) Joe Hall. Coach Hall told us how disappointed he was that nobody showed up to play. The president got on us. Cliff Hagan chewed us out. That was our last loss until we played Georgetown in the Final Four,” Walker said.
“You hate to lose but the president, AD and coach and everybody else is holding your accountable and demanding that you play with more effort and heart than you showed, that’s a strong message that propelled us to get back to business.
“At some point Mark had to try and do something to get the attention of these guys and make them understand the great opportunity they have at Kentucky. Mark is an outstanding guy and outstanding coach but he has to make some very tough decisions about playing time, personnel, offensive/defensive philosophy. He had to do some soul searching.”
Pope obviously did that before Kentucky played at Arkansas. He tinkered with practice routines and for the first time this season UK did not fall behind by double digits in a game away from Rupp Arena. The win along with the win over Oklahoma on Wednesday put UK at 7-3 in Southeastern Conference play after an 0-2 start but overall UK is still 16-7 with some perplexing losses going into tonight’s game against Tennessee.
Walker understands the team has had injuries to key players Jaland Lowe, Jayden Quaintance and Kam Williams. However, that does not excuse other players from not playing with maximum effort, a problem UK has had at times and certainly did in the lopsided loss at Vanderbilt.
“If you are going to show up, let’s play and give whatever we have got,” Walker said. “ I don’t care about NIL deals. You go out and play for the team and the pride of your teammates. If you give effort and lose, Kentucky fans can live with that. But if you don’t give maximum effort, Kentucky fans are not going to be happy and I don’t blame them.”
Otega Oweh, UK’s leading scorer again this year, understands what Walker means.
“The last time we played (against Vanderbilt) we didn’t do a good job representing Kentucky,” Oweh said after scoring 24 points against Arkansas and 24 more against Oklahoma. “We had to sit with that for a few days and then come back and clean this up. We had a bad outing (at Vanderbilt). That’s not who we are.”
Pope’s first Kentucky team probably overachieved and reached the Sweet 16. His second team has been way more up and down with road wins at Tennessee and Arkansas but beatdowns against other teams.
“Last year’s team had good 3-point shooters and fifth-year seniors who knew it was their last year of college basketball and needed to show what they could do. They all played hard, played together, were good 3-point shooters and a big man (Amari Williams) who could play the high pick and roll very well,” Walker said.
“I want Pope to go get a big name national high school recruit or two and then go to the portal and instead of getting guys who have been backup players go for starters like Florida did with Boogie Fland (of Arkansas). You got to swing big in the portal. He also has to get guys who are healthy and can contribute right away.”
Pope’s demeanor has also been questioned by many, especially after huge losses to Gonzaga, Michigan State and others. He’s mild mannered on the sideline and can come across as being too nice even though he did get hit with a technical foul at Arkansas.
“If he was a NBA coach with a veteran team he would be the perfect coach. Older guys know their responsibilities. In college, you have to teach and coach and show tough love. Coach Hall was a nice guy publicly and did the right things with fans but there was a darker side of him in practice that he had to have. Thank God there was no social media or talk shows then,” Walker said.
“Nice is great. Tubby (Smith) is a perfect example of a nice guy but you could see on the sideline his eyes were about to pop out of his head if you screwed up. I don’t know what he said behind closed doors but he was steaming. Rick Pitino would explode. You can only be a nice guy to a certain extent before you have to put your foot down.”
Walker said sometimes that tough love/discipline can mean making an example out of star players if they are not playing team basketball.
“You have to punish star players like anybody else. That is old school thinking but now if you don’t like what a coach is doing a player can go to the NBA or to another team. Rules hamper coaches from having that old school mentality as much but you have to have some of it. You can’t just give in to them and be their buddy.,” Walker said.
Walker didn’t see the huge win coming at Arkansas. Now he hopes the win can be a turning point for UK going into tonight’s game with Tennessee.
“A lot of times when we get down it turns into a lot of one-on-one basketball. Confidence drops and you see a lot of bickering on the court. But when this team is fighting and playing together like it did against Arkansas your confidence goes way up,” Walker said. “You have to be able to sustain that. Whether you are winning or not, play with that attitude every night, give yourself a chance and Kentucky fans will embrace you.”
