Mark Pope always talks about the second-year leaps his players make after spending the first learning and adjusting on the fly. No more drinking out of the firehose figuring out the system, only executing and improving upon what you already know. That’s where the talent really shines through.
Those low starting points rarely get addressed, though, because they happen behind closed doors over the course of an eight-week summer session without cameras putting every misstep in 8K for fan and media consumption. Players can struggle privately before their lives become very, very public during the season, no place better (or worse) for that than Kentucky where pressure bursts pipes or creates diamonds.
You may not know this, but Trent Noah was one of those struggling players when he first arrived in Lexington. In fact, the Harlan County product was drowning.
Trent Noah was a 'disaster' when he first got to Kentucky - now 'he's the most veteran, seasoned voice on the floor' - On3
Those low starting points rarely get addressed, though, because they happen behind closed doors over the course of an eight-week summer session without cameras putting every misstep in 8K for fan and media consumption. Players can struggle privately before their lives become very, very public during the season, no place better (or worse) for that than Kentucky where pressure bursts pipes or creates diamonds.
You may not know this, but Trent Noah was one of those struggling players when he first arrived in Lexington. In fact, the Harlan County product was drowning.
Trent Noah was a 'disaster' when he first got to Kentucky - now 'he's the most veteran, seasoned voice on the floor' - On3
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