Brandon Garrison, left, needs to be an inside presence again against Iowa State. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger prides himself on his team’s physical play and Kentucky coach Mark Pope knows that because of coaching against him before.
“They’re relentless, and he’s got unbelievable leadership on his team and they got incredible toughness, and I think that stems from his personality as a head coach. He’s really ingrained that on his guys,” Pope said Saturday in St. Louis. “So you know, it’s going to be a whole-hearted blood, sweat and tears endeavor, and it makes the games really fun.
“I look forward to these games so much. Not because there’s anything easy about them, but because they’re so hard. They make them really special.”
Kentucky and Iowa State played in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional second round Sunday at 2:45 p.m. looking for a berth in the Sweet Sixteen.
Pope obviously has emphasized Iowa State’s physical play but the UK players know they cannot abandon their normal playing style just to meet that physicality.
“I think they bring it to you which triggers a response, but I think we can be aggressive in that response,” UK sophomore guard Collin Chandler said. “I think that not letting them slow us down, or not letting them speed us up, rather, I think is the emphasis. Don’t let them dictate what we do, I think is the best way to put it.”
Reserve wing Kam Williams said “throwing the first punch” can dictate Sunday’s game.
“Because if you allow the other team to dictate the game you kind of counter what they’re doing, but if you’re the aggressor then you kind of control the entirety of the game,” Williams said. “We just do what we do well and we’re going to come up with a victory.”
Freshman center Malachi Moreno has been bothered by physical play at times in recent weeks when teams started targeting him more because of his improved play.
“(Assistant) Coach (Mark) Fox says before every game and before every scout, he says we gotta be the hammer, not the nail,” Moreno said. “So just being able to bring that aggressiveness and kind of just match their intensity and really key in on what we do well and just make plays for each other and I think we’re in a good spot.”
Pope emphasized that his team has to establish an inside game against Iowa State with Moreno and Brandon Garrison, who had one of his best games in the overtime win over Santa Clara.
“They make it really difficult because they’ll come double team every single post catch. But our guys are elite-level passers, so I think we’ll have some play there,” Pope said. “One of the ways you establish an inside presence is on the glass, and they’re really physical. So that’s just going to be a battle, right, to do that.
“You impose your will as a rim protector and take up space in the lane, moving bodies, and that’ll be another battlefront. All those things will be really important for us to find some life in, and I think our guys are prepared to do it.”
2 Responses
If Pope is going to play hero ball, he needs to start Aberdeen, Oweh, Williams, Dioubate, and Garrison and play them for 30 plus minutes. Everyone else plays backup roles. This gives Kentucky the best chance of winning of winning today, but that is as far as Kentucky will go.
Moreno, Jelavic, Chandler, and Noah play better together but the hero ball players will pout and demand more playing time. This selfish focused rift is what produced double digit losses for this team. Pope gave into the hero ball players because of Oweh and Aberdeen but that could lead to the team ball players hitting the portal on April 7.
Pope will get another year, but he has to decide will Kentucky play hero ball or team ball because he will lose good players to the portal either way. Chandler could possibly play with the hero ball group, but Moreno, Jelavic, and Noah will definitely leave. If Chandler stays to play with either group, Johnson leaves.
Personally, I would go with the hero ball group today, but go with the team ball group next season. Either way, Pope will have big holes to fill next season but needs to fill them with players who will be conducive to whichever style of play he will choose for next season; but he can't keep both groups…make a choice and stick with it!
The outcome of that one particular game doesn't change all of the existing issues and problems that plague this particular team, nor does it change the issues plaguing Pope as the coach or KY as a program with recruiting in this new day-and-age. Not unless that win FRI turns into an actual run to the Sweet 16 or Elite 8 or further. So that begins today. KY got a rare, extremely lucky crack at still getting the chance to make a run, and that's all that it was. To beat Iowa St, they will have to play the best game that they have played all season–or at least the best game since the stretch of games against TN and ARK–which they have NOT done since that time, except for the Vandy game at home. They're gonna have to have at least 1 to 2 other guys step up in addition to Oweh, whether it's Chandler, Dioubate, Moreno, Garrison, Aberdeen–theyre gonna have to have more from a couple more. So what are the chances of that? THATS the real question. The last 7 weeks would tell us it's more likely that that DOESNT happen than does. I hope they prove me wrong. But in order to prove me wrong, theyre gonna have to PROVE IT–and against one of the best teams they have faced all year. All of a sudden, they have a lot of luck and breaks going their way–now this star for Iowa St is out. U have to jump on opportunities like that. But I DO KNOW THIS: they can't play the way they did on FRI, and expect to come close to beating this Iowa St team. Personally, I'm much more concerned with seeing if Pope can actually sign ONE PLAYER for next year's team. We got a lot of fans that have been celebrating that first round win as if it was a win that put us in the Final Four. Up until the OT, that was one of the worst 40 mins this team put together all year, harkening back to DEC and the things that derailed this season in the first place. Now, a win today, and a win in the Sweet 16, that's a little different–the celebrating becomes more justified at that point. Eventually, you have to get more from your team if u want to accomplish big things and make dreams come true. For the majority of this season, it has been more like a team of nightmares. And one halfcourt shot is the only thing that prevented the ULTIMATE nightmare for this team. So, there's at least having avoided that. But it ain't alot to celebrate in my book. U still have the opportunity to change the narrative–but the longer this season has gone, the more u just want to see it be over. Prove me wrong, KY!!