Mark Pope admitted he made a fundamental mistake in leadership immediately following the shocking loss to Michigan State, by allowing the 45-minute locker room session to devolve into emotional chaos.
Now some fans are going to say that is exactly what is needed. Sometimes people need to be chewed out, sometimes you have to lose your cool and let emotions boil over. Those fans got their wish as the head coach let loose on his team in the locker room. It came at the expense of the media as they had to wait until he was done before he stepped out and talked.
The prolonged absence from the public eye was due to Pope trying to take an "old school" approach to pain: "We're going to feel this pain so that we want to never feel this pain ever again like this ever."
And that is totally fair, losing sucks, everyone hates it. But losing can be understood, a lack off "effort" simply can not be tolerated.
An emotional overload justified by Michigan State's domination over Kentucky
The raw numbers of the 83-66 defeat clearly justified the extreme emotion:
- Kentucky was outrebounded 42-28.
- MSU shot a blistering 50% from three.
- Kentucky posted a low of 13 assists (season average 19.2, ranked #21 nationally).
Pope confessed the emotion made him unable to be productive: "It was not great on my part... Not a good call on my part. It shouldn't be, there's really nothing constructive that can get done."
Sometimes there is though. A ref will remember the next time he makes that 50-50 call. A player will remember the next time that same situation comes up. It doesn't mean you have to curse and be verbally abusive. You can get your point across just fine like Tony Dungy used to.
The admission of trying to "lash out" and feeling frustrated confirmed the leadership missed the mark. This starkly validates the current crisis as much about managing frustration as it is about X's and O's.
Drew Holbrook is an avid Kentucky fan who has been covering the Cats for over 10 years. In his free time he enjoys downtime with his family and Premier League soccer. You can find him on X here. Micah 7:7. #UptheAlbion