Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope met with media the other day to talk about the loss to Clemson and preview the Gonzaga matchup. Pope is very familiar with the Bulldog's style of play, facing off against them as the BYU and Utah Valley head time almost a dozen times. He articulated what it's like to play Gonzaga:
""They've got a really distinctive style, they know exactly who they are. You could almost take the names off the jersey and you would know you are watching a Gonzaga team by the way they play: schematically and approach to the game. And they win, so it's going to be an epic adventure." "Mark Pope
He was asked about the similarities between Clemson and Gonzaga. Many experts have pointed out the strong likeness between the teams, and Pope agrees. He laughed about how they are probably friends and share notes.
""Brad [Clemson's head coach] and [Mark] Few have got to be friends. They have to be comparing notes. Though there are some things different. Gonzaga plays way faster, but in terms of their post-play, it is really, really similar. In terms of exploiting point-to-post, high-low post, side-ball screen away from the ball, and getting cross-screen action to get post play. They are very, very similar with usage." "Mark Pope
When it comes to what he thinks that Gonzaga will try to do against Kentucky he said, "They pretty much do it all to work the ball into the post." They want to get their big men the ball and let them go to work. However, you can't count out the guards who may be the strongest part of their game and Pope said, "They can beat you in transition, they can beat you from the three-point line...They have three incredibly explosive guards that are getting a ton of work right now. They are a dangerous, dangerous team."
As he described the players he has been scouting, he pointed out Khalif Battle and Nolan Hickman, but he honed in on Ryan Dembhard, their point guard. "[Ryan] Dembhard has like 10.3 assists to 1 turnover ratio right now. That's ridiculous; those numbers are crazy."
Ultimately Pope is looking forward to the matchup and calls it a "final four type matchup."