@CoachRyanKY
(LEXINGTON)- When Mark Pope was named Head Coach at Kentucky, proud members of the Big Blue Nation dreamed that a new leader with high energy and deep ties to the program would inspire his players to play with disciipline and passion. Fast forward to a month before March and there are signs that motivation and overall “want” might be an issue for this team. A lack of intensity was present on Tuesday night in the First Half, they’ve been present at the Mecca of Basketball in a loss to Ohio State, and they’ve been present on the road in Clemson, South Carolina on a random weekday night in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Sure, Kentucky has shown flashes of sheer brilliance this season, but the stretches of uninspired play (particularly against teams they should beat) have been marred by spurts of lackluster defense, ridiculously bad rebounding on both ends of the floor, and no creation of the ever important turnover. One thing that raises concern on my own is the team’s body language during the adverse times of the game. Now becoming an all too often occurrence, they appear disorganized and disengaged when facing a deficit rather than viewing it as a challenge and fighting back with a sense of urgency.
One of the hallmarks of Pope’s coaching style is that it is rooted in the power of positivity. Pope believes that positive energy yields better results than bringing in the negative, he may be right in some circles — but I don’t think he’s 100% correct in that with basketball. Sometimes you have to get down, dirty, and nasty with your players when the time is right. “Emotionally belligerent” is the term Mark Pope likes to use, “an ass chewing” is the term Dan Hurley would use — whichever term it is, I’d like to see Pope do it more in game. As fans, we all remember the heated exchanges between Kentucky players and coaches of past. Nothing personal, just passion. I want to see that Pope can command respect and intensity from his team.
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