Kentucky coach Mark Pope led the Wildcats to a bounce-back 103-67 win against the North Carolina Central Eagles on Tuesday evening. The win was a much-needed boost after last week’s blowout loss to the Gonzaga Bulldogs had placed Pope on the hot seat.
Pope was all business against the Eagles, sitting Jaland Lowe and Kam Williams for the entire first half of the game and laying into forward Brandon Garrison before benching him for the entire first half after a lackadaisical defensive effort.
Mark Pope Details Harsh Message to His Team After Win
During his postgame news conference, Pope detailed the harsh message that he sent to some of his players during the game and was visibly frustrated with his team’s performance despite the win.
“We just have a standard that we have to live up to and we’re not,” Pope said. “We don’t really know what it means to compete yet, which is terrifying, but we will learn. It hasn’t translated yet, but it will. It will. We’re going to be so proud of this team. We’re not yet, but we will be. And that competitive spirit, man, I’ve done a poor job.
“We’re gonna find it, but we’re gonna die trying, and so it’s there. We just gotta get it, and we gotta find a way to do it, and we gotta get guys outside of themselves. We gotta get guys living and dying for this team and this gym with this fan base and in a competitive game.”
Pope’s Wildcats improved to 6-4 with the win but have lost all four of their games against ranked opposition this season, including losses to the Louisville Cardinals, Michigan State Spartans, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Gonzaga.
Pope Blasts His Team’s Defensive Effort
Pope showed his frustration with his team’s defensive efforts all night. After Garrison lost the ball and didn’t get back on defense quickly enough, he was benched, and the Kentucky coach broke a clipboard over his knee during the huddle. During his postgame news conference, he blasted his team’s defensive efforts during the game.
“I was disappointed with our defense tonight,” Pope said. “I was disappointed with the fouls. I was disappointed with the late gap help. I was disappointed with our on-ball ball-screen pressure. We need to be way more up the line, way more aggressive to turn a guy around rather than just letting him pick us apart.”
Pope’s Wildcats have testing games against the No. 22 St. John’s Red Storm and No. 12 Alabama Crimson Tide yet to come on their schedule that will test their coach’s temperament to the limit.
