Kentucky basketball had the chance to shoot inside Bridgestone Arena ahead of its SEC Tournament opener.
Head coach Mark Pope said no, proving that he really isn't afraid of ghosts.
Despite Kentucky’s brutal shooting performance in the building earlier this season, where the Cats shot 16-for-60 and 7-34 from deep, Pope made the surprising decision to skip the team’s allotted arena practice on Tuesday. While the other seven teams playing Wednesday used their practice window, Kentucky chose routine instead.
Pope’s gamble? That preparation matters more than familiarity with the rims.
Why Mark Pope skipped Bridgestone Arena practice
Why skip the chance to get a "feel" for the rims that betrayed them in December? For Pope, the body clock is more important than the backdrop.
"We just wanted to reproduce the schedule of the day the best we could," Pope explained. "We couldn't do that with our slotted time there... it also recreates our normal travel."
Pope is leaning into the science of "circadian rhythm," practicing at the exact time of Wednesday's 11:30 a.m. CT tip-off. He’s betting that a well-rested, routine-oriented team is more dangerous than one that spent an hour shooting in a cold, empty NBA arena.
But this is something Pope has been doing. After slow starts crushed the Cats early in SEC play, he and the staff made the decision to switch things up. That resulted in a win in Fayetteville.
Mark Pope’s blunt take on experience
When asked if his veteran players have an edge in a "one-and-done" environment, Pope offered a dose of cold reality: "Experience is good if you win and it’s not if you lose."
To Pope, it doesn't matter if you've been playing since you were five years old; if you haven't gotten better, that "experience" is just a record of past mistakes.
With that said having Lamont Butler certainly helped last year, and a title winning Denzel Aberdeen will be key this year.
The 'gravity' of Collin Chandler
One player who has gotten better is sophomore Collin Chandler. Pope noted that Chandler’s "gravity" allows his team to operate better. He has this ability to draw defenders away from teammates and open up driving lanes.
"He's earned the right to have his gravity increase," Pope said. "Then it changes the way you find opportunities... It's a growth process. Everybody goes through it if you earn it."
The key part is earning it, Pope said he believed the beauty of tournament season was that you get the right to earn to play again in 24 hours. And then you keep doing that until you lose.
Kentucky is going to "Bring it"
Pope’s message to the fans who saved up their hard-earned money to travel to Nashville? "Bring it." Despite the struggles since 2018 in the SECT, expect a lot of blue to descend on Nashville again.
Kentucky remains the national leader in attendance with over 350,000 fans showing up at Rupp this year. That is insane for a team that is 19-12.
"This relationship between us and this fan base is extraordinary," Pope said. "Let's go make some history."
Pope is betting that the "immediate feedback" of a tournament environment will bring out the best in his Cats. If the shots fall tomorrow, his "Routine over Venue" strategy will look like a masterstroke. If they don't, the decision to skip practice will be the first thing critics point to.