Pope's First Offseason Press Conference

[Joneslab]

Says he was "devastated" to lose Travis Perry.

Says Brandon Garrison loved how Amari Williams mentored players last season and he's going to try and be a leader like that on the team this coming season.

He's playing videos and etc. for the new players of last year's players to show them how important playing at Kentucky was to that group.

On Oweh:

"Mark Pope says Otega Oweh has a "ton of room to grow" with another season in Lexington. "To get it off (shot) quicker and get more attempts (3PA). His ability to neutralize bigs on the glass and bigs on switches is a place he can really grow. He could be one of the elite steals guys in the country."

[Joneslab]

Pope on Kentucky:

"We want to play the hardest schedule. We want to win the most games. We want to have the best players. Want to have the highest NIL. We want to have the coolest uniforms. We want to have the most media attention... This is Kentucky basketball. We should be the best at everything."

[Joneslab]

Pope says he "failed miserably" at shooting threes last season.

Again reiterates that he wants 30-35 attempts per game.

[Joneslab]

He referred to Trent Noah as a "Kentucky legend" and raved about him for quite awhile.

[KCKUKFan]

Pope says he "failed miserably" at shooting threes last season.

Again reiterates that he wants 30-35 attempts per game.

Part of me wonders if this is going to be his version of Tubby's fast pace.

[Joneslab]

Part of me wonders if this is going to be his version of Tubby's fast pace.

Last season I thought Amari Williams got in the way a little. When it turned out he was such a good passer, I think some of those excess threes went to him out at the top of the key probing. Had he not turned out to be as knife-like as he was, they might get to those 30+.

Also losing Robinson, who at the time was our highest volume shooter, hurt.

I'd be shocked if next season could get up above what we just saw, but what you want is a good balance. The teams that win titles generally do so because they can operate all over the court, inside/out, in transition and in halfcourt, against big lineups and small. The number of threes per game might be just a psychological tool Pope uses to plant a seed in the opponents' heads that we're willing to take early threes, so you better get out there.

[KentuckyWild2020]

Pope says he "failed miserably" at shooting threes last season.

Again reiterates that he wants 30-35 attempts per game.

Because OWEH became the man and was the go too, especially after Robinson went down....

[DA#23]

[Joneslab]

Because OWEH became the man and was the go too, especially after Robinson went down....

That's true as well. But I'd say Amari had control of the ball five times more than Oweh did.

Playing Amari at point/center was a stroke of genius BUT it did negate some of the three-point attempts we might have otherwise gotten.

Garrison has shown some of the same ability to pass. He isn't as deft at moving on the dribble though as Amari was (very few big men are). I noticed last season when Garrison was in there it would often get stuck on one side of the court. Amari didn't do that at all; when he got it out there, he could usually get the ball to where it needed to go.

[KentuckyWild2020]

That's true as well. But I'd say Amari had control of the ball five times more than Oweh did.

Playing Amari at point/center was a stroke of genius BUT it did negate some of the three-point attempts we might have otherwise gotten.

Garrison has shown some of the same ability to pass. He isn't as deft at moving on the dribble though as Amari was (very few big men are). I noticed last season when Garrison was in there it would often get stuck on one side of the court. Amari didn't do that at all; when he got it out there, he could usually get the ball to where it needed to go.

Kentucky was easy to defend in many ways.

Get physical with Brea and Robinson, stick to them like glue.

Force Williams up top(he's not a threat) let Oweh gets what he gets.

I think Oweh greatly benefited when Butler and Robinson went down. Still think Oweh is a great college player but if he does come back, i suspect his usage may go down, i don't know.

[Joneslab]

Kentucky was easy to defend in many ways.

Kentucky had the best offense the program has had in a quarter century.

[teamchemistry15]

Kentucky was easy to defend in many ways.

Get physical with Brea and Robinson, stick to them like glue.

Force Williams up top(he's not a threat) let Oweh gets what he gets.

I think Oweh greatly benefited when Butler and Robinson went down. Still think Oweh is a great college player but if he does come back, i suspect his usage may go down, i don't know.

He would arguably be the conference preseason player of the year and you think his usage will go down?

[Joneslab]

He would arguably be the conference preseason player of the year and you think his usage will go down?

If Pettiford returns, he'll probably be the frontrunner. Oweh would be right there.

Alex Condon, Josh Hubbard, Mark Mitchell, Malik Dia, Meechie Johnson (back at South Carolina, but he was out all year with some mysterious thing), Ja'Kobi Gillespie, and even DJ Wagner will probably be all in the mix.

[Joneslab]

And all in all, the SEC's gonna be NOWHERE near what it was last season. Huge chunks of teams are gone and many did not really bring in a whole lot.

Might be one of the weaker power conferences in America next season. To which I say: good.

[EKYCat]

Kentucky was easy to defend in many ways.

Get physical with Brea and Robinson, stick to them like glue.

Force Williams up top(he's not a threat) let Oweh gets what he gets.

I think Oweh greatly benefited when Butler and Robinson went down. Still think Oweh is a great college player but if he does come back, i suspect his usage may go down, i don't know.

I think Oweh would have benefitted more had Butler and Robinson not been hurt because teams would have had to respect both players offensive abilities, freeing Oweh up to do more in space. That Oweh did what he did when they were hurt is a testament to Oweh's ability.