Mark Pope admitted to Tom Hart that this team would not be the offensive team he envisioned they could be. After the game, he didn't seem like he had much in the way of answers, either, saying his team looked like they were "stuck in molasses."
He wants this team to be a team that flies up and down the court, that moves with real pace in the half-court. For whatever reason, they aren't doing any of that.
Speaking with Tom Leach, Pope said he is "trying to simplify" everything so that the team isn't out on the court just overthinking every move they make. That hasn't helped make it any better yet, though Pope said they "would get there."
After annoying BBN, Mark Pope gives more detailed reasons for Kentucky struggles
Earlier this week, Mark Pope waxed poetically on his radio show, and it annoyed BBN. This time, when speaking with Tom Leach, the coach went in-depth on what went wrong during key sequences during the Missouri game.
Coming out of the under-4 timeout, Kentucky gave up an easy layup, a play Pope told Tom Leach they had prepared for all week long.
"Stone made big shots…they run a horns duck on the weak side and throw it over the top. It is a play we had prepared for, we just didn’t execute and gave up a layup. We had a bunch of that."
That cut Kentucky's lead, and the pressure seemed to really get to Kentucky, forcing some bad execution down the stretch.
"We get to a high ball screen, and JLo does a nice job of snaking it…Still not growing into making plays for teammates…There were a couple that were like that, where our decision-making has to be better."
And then on the crucial play where Lowe basically just threw it at the rim with Kentucky down 3, Pope said that they just didn't do what he had asked.
"We were trying to get JLo down hill... We went over the ball screen and the pace of that was slow and we didn’t get downhill… it was a broken play."
That play was a microcosm of the season. Oweh was open just to Lowe's left, but instead of making the easy play, Lowe tried to do it all himself. It sent Kentucky to 0-2 in SEC play for the first time in 2 decades.
Pope said he told his team to "Be honest. Don’t be scared of the truth. Find ways to get better." He then left with a message for all of BBN:
"Guys, we are feeling all the pain that you are feeling. We are in a hard stretch for sure… Nothing for us to do but grieve and get in and get better. That’s what we will do. We are not performing well, but these guys are putting their heart and soul out there."
Whatever they're doing isn't good enough. Pope seems to think they will find it, reminding fans they have only had "3 games" with Jayden Quaintance and Jaland Lowe, but BBN has run out of patience. They roasted Mark Pope after the game.
The Cats will be back in action Saturday against Mississippi State in a game where Mark Pope will be coaching for his job.