Pope insists "this is not who we are"

[Semi-OldEvilleCat]

Looks to me like he's getting ready to find out if he really understands the assignment...

[Catsrock]

Hope is Not a strategy

value the damn ball. Take pride in your defense. Make the next pass to get your teammate a better shot than you have. Do the hard things. Don’t just roll over and take it.

case in point- yes we were down 20. But to let them dribble at half court for SEVERAL posessions late in the game while we were back in the paint watching? BULLSH@T! FIGHT! FIGHT UNTIL IT’S OVER! That absolutely sickened me.

Amen. I watched a play—don’t remember the exact time, maybe couple minutes left in the first half—Vandy had the ball out front 35-40 ft from the basket, one guy dribbling and a teammate very near him, teammate realized his shoe was untied, bent down to tie it, our 2 defenders attack the ball handler and force a 5 on 4 situation, or force a Vandy timeout? Nope, BOTH backed off giving them 10-15 seconds to take care of business then set up their offense and we then re-engaged. Pope stood there where he always is, not a word. I took that as truly amazing sportsmanship. Very considerate of our guys. Heck—they were getting paid either way. In my playing days and (limited) youth coaching days I always felt you attack every weakness and opportunity.

[EKYCat]

Amen. I watched a play—don’t remember the exact time, maybe couple minutes left in the first half—Vandy had the ball out front 35-40 ft from the basket, one guy dribbling and a teammate very near him, teammate realized his shoe was untied, bent down to tie it, our 2 defenders attack the ball handler and force a 5 on 4 situation, or force a Vandy timeout? Nope, BOTH backed off giving them 10-15 seconds to take care of business then set up their offense and we then re-engaged. Pope stood there where he always is, not a word. I took that as truly amazing sportsmanship. Very considerate of our guys. Heck—they were getting paid either way. In my playing days and (limited) youth coaching days I always felt you attack every weakness and opportunity.

That was ridiculous. I was like, why aren't they calling a timeout? Why are our guys just standing there watching? Pope squinted at that play so hard though.

[Catsrock]

That was ridiculous. I was like, why aren't they calling a timeout? Why are our guys just standing there watching? Pope squinted at that play so hard though.

Yeah the squint may have gotten results last year but it’s not landing with this bunch.

[blueheretic]

There are different ways to take the "this is not who we are" comment by Pope. One way is to see that he may be agreeing with all of us and just saying it in a more diplomatic way. As in, the product on the court this year is not who UK is.

apologia