Kentucky basketball The 6-4 start and losses to every major college team she faced lasted coach Mark Pope return to a style he thought he had left behind. It will take an old-fashioned approach for the Wildcats to play the way they want to.
During Pope’s first seasons as head coach at Utah Valley, he coached with a tougher edge. He wasn’t as consoling on turnovers, not as encouraging after execution errors.
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He admitted as much during a press conference last December.
“I was wondering, ‘How long can you maintain level 10 intensity and concentration?’ “,” Pope said. “I spent 24 hours a day pacing, criticizing and yelling, in game mode. Full intensity.”
He thought this was how he was supposed to be. And it won’t take long to understand why, after playing for Rick Pitino in the 1990s, when success was a choice and not everyone who played for it knew they could choose mediocrity.
This season dictated that Pope return to that style, not what he learned from a group of BYU clinical psychology professors.
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Pope shaped his approach to focus more on the “connective tissue” of the team, which at BYU and his first season at UK did not include the harsh criticism and intense, laser focus of all things basketball. There is also room for a cerebral approach; The Pope does not need to transform himself into Bobby Knight.
But this must be won with a group of players capable of handling such confidence.
This version of the Wildcats needs to be explained what intensity looks like. They need to learn how effort can sometimes compensate when execution can be botched and shots don’t fall.
It may sound simple, but based on UK’s four defeats, it seems the players don’t get it.
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“I did a bad job of getting that from our guys,” Pope said after Tuesday’s 103-67 win over NC Central. “No one is more surprised by this than me, but it’s not going to last.”
Junior Brandon Garrison was the most obvious example of how Pope is evolving.
After the Cats’ loss to Michigan State, Garrison was benched in favor of Malachi Moreno, freshman in the starting lineup. Pope said he wasn’t in the business of sending messages, but the way Garrison played in his limited minutes against Loyola Maryland seemed to understand why.
Until Tuesday night’s game against the Eagles. Garrison was on the wrong end of another non-message from Pope, message when he didn’t play the entire second half after committing a turnover and then running the floor that led to a dunk.
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This came as the Pope also declared Kam Williams And Jaland Lowe out of the lineup for the entire first half.
Building this team’s roster has contributed to the Cats’ slow start; they just aren’t as experienced. Last season, Pope could afford to give his players more freedom on the field because he primarily relied on veterans.
Lamont Butler, Koby Brea, Jaxson Robinson, Andrew Carr and Amari Williams were not only seniors, but also playing in their fifth years thanks to being the last class to be able to take advantage of the COVID year eligibility waiver.
Otega Owehas a junior last season, was the young guy in the starting lineup. Now he and Florida are transferred Denzel Aberdeen They’re the old heads, and they’re surrounded in the lineup by players who are either young like Moreno or Jasper Johnson, or who just don’t know what it’s like to play at this level.
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They get a tutorial on how to play on a stage like Kentucky’s, where the spotlights shine brightest or burn brightest depending on how they play.
“We’ve got to get guys out of themselves, and we’ve got to get guys to live and die for this team, in this gym with this fan base,” Pope said after Tuesday night’s win.
The smile disappeared from Pope’s face; he looks more sullen these days. The brain guru of X’s and O’s became a drill sergeant. It’s just the change UK needs to salvage a season that’s going in the wrong direction.
Contact sports columnist CL Brown at [email protected]follow him on @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter on profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to be sure to never miss one of his columnss.
This article was originally published in the Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball needs Mark Pope to be more Rick Pitino right now
