Kentucky coach Mark Pope and his squad have spent a rare week off preparing for the rest of the season.
The No. 25 Wildcats (17-7, 8-3 Southeastern Conference) are coming off a 74-71 win over Tennessee on Saturday night and will return to the court at No. 14 Florida on Saturday.
“Even this far along in the season, just so much for our guys to learn and understand,” Pope said on his radio show earlier this week. “There's so much growth we can make out of the short roll. There's so much growth we can make in our different ball screen defensive coverage.
“We tried a new coverage (against Tennessee) and with varying executional success. We have guys growing, making plays that they hadn’t before and taking on roles that they hadn’t before.”
Through the times of adversity in the first three months of the season, the Wildcats have won eight of their past nine games going into Saturday’s contest against the Gators.
“It’s so fun to dig into it and see where guys are making progress, where there's still a ton of room before their ceiling, and where we can get better as a team. It's a fun process.”
FINALLY, A FAN
Former Kentucky guard Allen Edwards has rarely witnessed a basketball game from the fans. Edwards, currently an assistant coach at UMass, has spent most of his time as a player or coach on the court.
Edwards, a member of Kentucky’s 1996 and 1998 national championship teams, soaked in the experience of being a fan during Kentucky’s 1995-96 team reunion last Saturday night at Rupp Arena.
“He was like, ‘I was so shocked to be in the building where I could just take the time to look around and see the people sitting at the very, very top of the upper deck and really take in people's reaction to great plays or bad plays, and smell the food and see people — just see the ambiance of the gym, and you don't really take that in as a player,” Pope said. “It's crazy to think that some of our guys haven't been back in this gym just to take in a game that way. When he left, he was really in awe. He's like, ‘man, I can't believe I got to play in this gym and do that in front of this crowd.’ It’s even more special than it was before, because he actually got to see what was happening.”
After graduating, Edwards has coached at Morehead State, Virginia Commonwealth, Towson, Western Kentucky, Wyoming and Loyola Marymount. Edwards has been at UMass since the 2022 season.
MADNESS MEMORIES
During his time at Kentucky, Willie Cauley-Stein’s favorite memory centered around Big Blue Madness.
“The campouts were some of the craziest times, he recalled. “We did the pizza deliveries. I’m one of those guys going in and out of tents and eating snacks with people and just getting to know the people — I think that's probably one of the bigger reasons why I fell in love with this fan base, and they fell in love with me. I’m one of them, and I grew up in a similar background. I’m a blue-collar kid at heart and I just fit right in.”
Early in his college career, Cauley-Stein considered transferring as a freshman, but opted against leaving Kentucky and ended up playing in back-to-back Final Fours.
“We were struggling,” he recalled. “I was calling home, telling them I was trying to transfer. It was a tough year, but I persevered through it. You have to get through it, put your head down and just work.”
SIMILARITIES
Two former teammates of Pope share similarities with a pair of his current players.
The Kentucky coach said there’s “something similar” between Otega Oweh and Antoine Walker.
“There's just something similar in terms of their just impact on the game and their reliability, especially as Antoine got a little bit older,” he said.
He also thinks Collin Chandler and Jeff Sheppard are similar on the court.
“I could go down the list, because I know both teams so well, but there are some fun comparisons,” Pope said.
Gametracker: Kentucky at Florida, 2 p.m.CT, Saturday. TV/Radio: ABC, UK Radio Network on 94.7 The Mix and WiLLiE 102.
Coach Mark Pope celebrates a satisfying 74-71 victory over Tennessee on Saturday. (UK Athletics photo)
