LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Kentucky had slightly fewer assists than usual in Tuesday’s 77-72 upset of No. 6 Duke.
It didn’t matter. After the game, Wildcats first-year coach Mark Pope made up for it in his postgame comments. He took credit. he shouted in praise. He missed the chance to make himself look good.
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He didn’t have that. He had Wake Forest transfer Andrew Carr make an opening statement. And when asked about the expected reaction from Kentucky fans after Kentucky’s first win over Duke since 2015, he deflected credit again.
“As I said after the game, this is really important. I think one of the great things about our team is that this isn’t really about us,” Pope said. spoke. “This is not about me. If this is about me, it’s too big. If it’s about Andrew Carr, it’s too big. We’re a pretty loyal group and this is We all come to learn that it’s not really about us, so we can all acknowledge our fans in the stands because it’s not about us, it’s about us too. I think it’s magic.
Okay, so magic, write it down. But there are some things you don’t have to be a basketball Benny to understand. That’s also coaching.
half time adjustment
Kentucky didn’t have a great first half against Duke. He made a few 3s early on and played well enough to keep the lead close, but heading into the locker room trailing 46-37, Pope said on Tom Leach’s postgame radio show: As he said, “There were some big problems.”
First, Pope said Kentucky was allowing 1.5 points per possession with its transition isolation defense. He added that the Wildcats were giving up more in trying to protect ball screens.
It’s a familiar problem, as Kentucky fans know. For a while, Kentucky looked like a kid trying to solve a Rubik’s cube while trying to play ball screen defense. And there are no really smart kids who know all the solving algorithms either.
But Pope solved the problem with one halftime conversation and some tools.
“The main reason was the ball handler going too deep on the ball screen,” Pope told Leach. “Our weaknesses and weaknesses — We just needed to move the point. We needed to get the big guys up to the point. They’re very big so their roll is very threatening. We zoned up a little too much. So our sprinter and so what happened is their gas Ed is very talented from 6 feet and we had to get better at it in the second half. It was the same look the whole first half. And in the second half, we blitzed a lot on ball screens. I went to some unders and some down weeks. , consistent appearance.
When I posted that comment on X, I think some people shed tears. It’s complicated, sure, but it’s simple. Multiple appearances. Break down the components of the play. First, pay attention to the analysis.
“Emotional resilience”
But it means nothing if the players don’t accept it and run with it. It’s not enough to know how to fix something on the basketball court. It takes persistence and effort to actually fix it.
And Pope got that from his team.
“I thought our players had incredible determination,” Pope told Leach. “They had great mental resiliency, and that’s very important in this game of basketball playing at a high level. I thought that was probably the winning characteristic for our players. That’s what we gave them and we didn’t take anything from Duke. They were a great team too. But for us to have a chance to win, they had to do everything they could. They showed it in small ways. They started the second half going through some fatigue issues, some misplay issues, some frustration issues, some rotation issues. When you keep bringing a fresh mind to the possession and you’re able to endure and metabolize and vent all your frustrations, it pays to stay fresh and that was certainly the case tonight.”
So it was midnight, but the Big Blue Nation wasn’t ready to sleep. They were having a party on campus. Towards victory in November.
Everything has a context. Kentucky fans are used to losing games like this, but when you look at this talent and say it’s early in the season, you have to understand how difficult it is.
Six years and six days ago, John Calipari finally took a Kentucky team that featured five regular NBA starters (including four first-round draft picks) to the Champions Classic, trailing Duke by 34 points. I lost a lot. Duke now had three top-10 draft picks that year.
Duke will likely have three top-10 picks in this year’s draft as well. But Kentucky was much deeper. And the coaching after that was even better. Coach Pope also moved Andrew Carr, who had been playing at No. 4 throughout the game, to No. 5 for some offensive possessions, with Kerr scoring two goals in the final four minutes, including the tying goal and another. He countered with a big and-one. This gave Kentucky a two point lead.
Similarly, Pope contested an out-of-bounds call within the first two minutes and the ball was given back to Kentucky when it went the other way.
Kentucky wasn’t a bad team down the stretch, outscoring Duke 13-5 with four minutes left. Kentucky, which allowed 46 points in the first half, defeated Duke 40-26 in the second half. Kentucky was outscored 28-6 in the paint in the first half, but outscored Duke 20-18 in the paint in the second half.
call-in message
On the bus back to the airport, Pope called into the KSR Postgame Show and spoke with host Matt Jones. He wanted to speak directly to his fans. He showed the team a hype video featuring highlights of the Kentucky rivalry dating back to Jack “Goose” Givens scoring 41 points against Duke in the 1978 NCAA Championship Game. talked about. He showed shots of Christian Laettner and highlights from the 1998 Comeback Cats.
“As you all know, I love Kentucky history,” Pope told Jones. “So our players were very aware of what this game meant and how much fun this matchup meant, especially for the Kentucky fans. Oh, we all knew the same thing. I hope everyone at BBN goes to bed with a smile on their face.”I hope everyone has a little memory tonight. ”
Also, what is this? Is it Mark from Atlanta who says the coach will call the postgame show? He got on a bus and left for the airport, saying, “I think I’m about to call the postgame show.”
Yes, it’s only been 3 games. But Pope isn’t spewing false alarms yet. He has touched more people’s hearts than Bill Monroe. For the thousands of Kentucky fans who stay up past 1 a.m. for the postgame show after a win like this one, after years of hearing that it wasn’t for them, the message has changed.
“I hope everyone feels how much we love them and how much we feel like a community compact,” Pope said. “This is us. This is us. This isn’t about me, it’s not about our players. It’s about Kentucky. As long as I’m here, the players on this team will be here. That’s never going to change as long as we’re here. Because that’s how we feel.” So stay safe and celebrate like crazy. ”
With that, Pope pressed “end” and set off into the ever-shining blue moon.
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