Kentucky

VIDEO: Kentucky HC Mark Pope – Jackson State Postgame

Published

1 year ago

November 23, 2024

VIDEO: Kentucky HC Mark Pope – Jackson State Postgame

Kentucky head coach Mark Pope addressed the media after the No. 9 Wildcats’ 108-59 win over Jackson State on Friday night at Rupp Arena.

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MARK POPE Q&A:

MARK POPE: All right. Great night. This Jackson State team, man, these guys played really hard. They just compete, compete, compete, and Mo clearly, come on, he’s one of the best basketball guys and ambassadors to this game ever. The opportunity to have Kenny Walker, and Purvis in the gym was super special. You know, BBN showed out like they always do for a game that might not be perceived as a headline game. It was great night, proud of our guys. I thought they did a ton of good things. It was fun. We got to see everything. We got to see a ton of transitions and a ton of shots.You know, all kind of ﬁreworks from all of our guys and we got to see shoes ﬂying in the air. It was a magical evening. Lee is saying, I should not have said that. I thought it was fantastic.

Q Mark, your guys at the end seem to get a bigger kick out of anything with Travis and Trent both getting their ﬁrst 3s, do you remember your ﬁrst collegiate points and what it meant to you and what do you think it meant to those guys?

MARK POPE: That’s a great question. I can’t actually, I’m not sure. I didn’t score many, so you would think I would remember. I don’t remember for me. I think for TP and Trent, you know, those guys are- we talked about them a lot. They are really really special. They are having a massive impact on his team and their futures are incredibly bright and it’s hard to sit for 35 minutes and come play. I think they are taking it really seriously and I thought they came to play tonight, I thought they were awesome, I thought they were really good doing a really hard thing. So, I’m proud of those guys. It’s incredibly beautiful to have freshman that you can trust like we trust them and they have great futures.

Q Coach, last game you talked about Koby and how you tried to get him going outside of his three-point shooting. He went ﬁve of eight from three. But also in the ﬁrst half, he used that shoulder a little bit like you were talking and ﬁnished around the rim. How is his game evolving outside of the lethal three-point shooter that we know he is?

MARK POPE: He had a couple of cuts that I loved and he had the late cut in the ﬁrst half down to – on the left block and then he had the back door right in front of our bench where Amari, just like I’m going to throw it in that triple coverage and somehow Koby wanted that and earned himself free throws. It’s an unbelievable winning catch and it was really special. I thought Koby was really good tonight about choosing a simple play and executing really quickly. He was much more of a pop rule vibe tonight and I was really proud of that and I was really excited about his cuts. I thought he was excellent defensively, actually. Had a couple of strips that were a really incredible job. I was really proud of him for that. And I thought, I was really excited about his cuts and I thought he was excellent defensively, actually. Had a couple of strips that were really an incredible job with champion chess catching the moves, he was just catching multiple moves in isolation, I thought he was really good, I thought he was terriﬁc. And then one of my many favorite moments tonight. He banged a three right in the corner in front of me and turned around and started talking trash to me. Which that was awesome. I love that. I mean, Kobe is in a tough spot. He goes ﬁve from eight from the three-point line and it’s destroying his shooting percentage, which is just crazy and I’ve never seen that in my lifetime. He’s sure is doing special things for us, like all of our guys are right now.

Q We did talk a lot about 3s this week. Obviously, the high for the season so far with makes and attempts. Did you see anything diferent out there or was there a diferent focus on that coming in?

MARK POPE: It was certainly diferent defensively and this was a team that was much more eager to the ball. They were much more heavy bottom bringing multiple bodies and it was just easier for extra passes to come by for sure. There was a lot of pressure, so the game got a little scattered.With all that said, I thought our guys did an unbelievable job making plays for each other. You know, 29 assists is a good number for us and I would take that any night. Especially, guys especially in a game like this where it is so easy to think, awe man, in this game I’m just going to get one for myself. We just have a DNA, these guys have built a DNA on this team where they are actually excited to make plays for each other and I’m telling you that bodes well and it’s rare and it is important for the way we play and how this game is made up and our guys are going to continue to believe more and more that the more they give the more they get back, it’s the way this game works when it’s right and certainly they got to feel that tonight. I was really proud of them. You got to approach it with faith. If I make this next pass, if I just trust this game or trust the way we play it’s going to work out for me, and it did. One of the special stories for us tonight is that we had 11 players score, 11 of our 12 guys scored. The only player that didn’t score led us in assists. That’s exactly how a Kentucky basketball team is supposed to function. We had one guy that didn’t score and he led us in assists with seven. And every other guy on the court scored and shared the ball, I think we had four guys with ﬁve or more assists in the game. And those are all really important markers for how we want to represent this state and how we want to play this game and what we believe wins. I was proud of that and you can tell I’m happy hyped about that.

Q Mark, Collin posted a team best plus 29 in just 13 minutes. Have you seen him get more comfortable? The last two games, he’s looked a lot more comfortable.

MARK POPE: Collin is not scared, he checked in the game and shot a 30 footer in transition and said yeah, I’ve got this. He’s an incredible talent. None of us, I can’t, there’s nobody in this room that can relate to going and putting down the basketball for two years and you know, he is an extraordinary talent and you know, we are all going to be surprised with what he turns into, but we shouldn’t be.He’s really an extraordinary talent. Beautiful, beautiful young man too.

Q Mark, you talk about the unselﬁshness, but this is 12 guys on the roster you had to put together really quickly. Were you able to determine that in kind of the interview process before you were ever extended?

MARK POPE: Yes, the answer is yes. It’s – yeah. Especially with these guys from the transfer portal, right? You have so much data on them and footage of them. Also, I don’t know, guys, I think Kentucky attracts really good people. I think really good people. Because if you come to Kentucky, then you, by deﬁnition, it is the one place in all of college basketball where you are representing just a fan base in a diferent unique way. And to want that, it’s almost like it’s own ﬁlter, right? To really want that. I think it’s built into the DNA of our guys and I think our job have done a really good job being intentional about and trying to learn each other and love each other and we talked about that a lot. I think that’s what Kentucky draws, right? You know, everybody knows that we talk about the name on the front of the jersey. Our guys know that and they know that when we recruit them. In general, you know, I think every guy that we recruit is desperately dreaming of hanging a banner and going to play in the NBA. But they believe the pathway to do that is not actually making this exclusively about themselves. And that sounds like a strong statement, but it’s actually hard not to be that way. I think the ﬁlter is pretty good and certainly our guys are proving that right now. It doesn’t come easy, it’s not a one conversation thing. It’s things our guys are talking to each other every single day. Trying to believe that and trust in that path, I’m proud of our guys functioning.

Q Mark, you have been talking about stretching Brandon out a little bit. Played a lot of minutes tonight, this line is just full of numbers. What did you like about his energy?

MARK POPE: I thought BG was great tonight and the six assists was a great number for that game. BG was a six two, which is really good for him, actually. Six assists is great with three steals and three blocks, right? in a really physical game on the interior with some big bodies, like some really big bodies. I thought as the game went on he got better and better and better. I thought he made some really great challenged catches. I thought he was really disciplined with how he distributed the ball and he is a decision-maker on our team and I thought he was terriﬁc tonight. I thought he was super forceful inside trying to, you know, sometimes when he ﬁnishes moves a little bit weak soft going away and tonight, I thought he was super forceful against big bodies and there is a lot of growth in him tonight.

Q You mentioned Travis, Trent, Collin all being under diferent circumstances this season. Kerr, obviously, the guy who had zero points and seven assists. How big of an adjustment for him starting 93 games over his career and then coming into this roll and embracing it so far?

MARK POPE: He was that way from the beginning too, I think he knew exactly what he was walking into and I think he loves it. I’m telling you, Kerr Kriisa, I don’t know if we get him walking in our doors every year. I’m enjoying and savoring every second I get to coach him because he’s really unique, he’s bringing so much to our team, you know, it’s interesting. I don’t know if you guys notice this but we were in the second half we kind of made a run, this was back in the Duke game. We were somewhere in the second half and we made a run early and Duke kind of came back and pushed us up to seven, eight, or nine and we were a little stymied for a moment and we came to a media timeout and we were walking at the huddle and Kerr was pushing everybody, just shoving them, right? He just refuses to accept whatever the common vibe is. He’s going to be contrary to it.Right? It’s really important and our guys receive it really well. And it just keeps everybody really sharp. He’s really special, he’s got a really unique skill set and personality and he brings deﬁance and a swag and an insistence for a team. He’s also got this incredible commitment. I mean, I think it was probably the ﬁrst blue-and-white scrimmage we all sat down and I mentioned that Kerr promised he was going to be the best pace guy in college basketball and he has lived up to that every second he’s been on the ﬂoor every single game, right? And that’s an incredible consistent determination is beautiful too and he’s got both of those vibes going on in a really special package. He’s special, and he was special tonight, if you think about it. Seven assists, zero points, let’s go, he’s cool with that. Dude is going to put up 20 one night when we need him to too.

Q Coach, I think you said in a previous press conference you have not been surprised by any of your players and you knew exactly what you were getting when you brought them here to Kentucky. But I think the play of Otega Oweh certainly surprised Big Blue Nation. Just talk about double O tonight with another 20 point game.

MARK POPE: It’s interesting with Otega, right? What is really great about Otega. He’s 8 for 12. He’s 4 for 4 from the free-throw line. He’s got 21 points, two assists, zero turnovers, three steals and ends up with 20 points on the night and we don’t get to him until the very end of the press conference.When he kind of does that every single night. He gets us of to unbelievable starts every single night. He’s got physicality and a joy about him. I think he’s been incredible. I’m really proud of him, you know, one of the things that all of us are working on growing and one of the things that he has been focusing on growing is being a every day, every play guy. Man, he’s probably been our most consistent guy in games. And that is a massive tribute to him. And Coach Fox works with him a lot. I’m just really proud of him and he’s just bringing joy to every single game. The only time I got mad at

Otega today was when he was celebrating with his guys too much after a play and not running transition defense. He’s really special. I have to stop talking about him because he started to get a big head back here, you know what I’m saying? Awesome. Thanks guys, have a great night.

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Kentucky

Kentucky salvaged the season — and proved mercenaries still kill

Published

10 minutes ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky salvaged the season — and proved mercenaries still kill

“I’m stupid, you’re smart. I was wrong, you were right. You’re the best, I’m the worst. You’re very good-looking, I’m not attractive.”

It’s a Happy Gilmore quote, but the crow-eating tastes the same for me as I gather my thoughts with an emotional day winding down at State Farm Arena. Kentucky hit rock bottom in Nashville with a 35-point loss to Gonzaga to make it four losses in four tries against name-brand competition, these Wildcats getting worse before they were getting better — but most damning of all, they didn’t look like they cared. That’s why Big Blue Nation booed them off the floor and I called them overpaid, heartless portal mercenaries who were taking the “sacred piece of cloth,” as Mark Pope likes to call these uniforms, and wiping their asses with it.

My words and my words alone.

Those were very real heat-of-the-moment reactions that felt deserved. They were also the heat-of-the-moment reactions that led to a stern talking to from Rick freaking Pitino, saying Kentucky media members were too quick to judge Pope’s Wildcats without having the full picture with injuries destroying this group to start the season.

“I think you all need to learn a little bit of a lesson as writers because you’re expecting Kentucky to be this great basketball team with all those injuries,” Pitino said. “So you all need to learn a lesson because you can’t be a great basketball team without two of your best players, with no point guard, no big men. So I think everybody really exaggerates one game or two games or three games.

“Kentucky got blown out, and usually Kentucky doesn’t get blown out of any game, okay. But you have to look at it when they come back, two gigantic pieces.”

There is a lot of truth to that and I want to start there. It was unfair to put this team in its coffin without first seeing how all of the pieces would work together — not just most of them. You don’t walk out to the floor blaring Many Men by 50 Cent if you haven’t heard the noise that you’ve been written off as a group. Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance were complete game-changers and availability has been quite literally the only question mark for both players since the season tipped off. They play — and play well — and Kentucky wins. Is it that simple? They haven’t been allowed to prove otherwise, so until then, we can only judge what’s in front of us. For that, I was completely wrong and shortsighted with a sample size far too small and incomplete. I have no problem owning up to my stupidity.

Hear me out on this, though. I had roster construction concerns and still don’t feel totally comfortable about how all of these puzzle pieces fit together — again, where is the creation and shooting?! — for Pope to believe “we’re going to become a really explosive offensive team,” but those things can all play out. They’ve clawed back enough to earn that patience.

The root of our frustrations had to do with the fight and want-to, though. That’s why these Wildcats got booed. That’s why they were generally unlikable through nine games and four losses. Nothing about their play suggested they wanted this the way Big Blue Nation wanted this or that representing the name on the front of their uniforms actually mattered. Take the first halves vs. Indiana and St. John’s, for example. The offensive execution stunk in both games and they couldn’t buy a basket if their lives depended on it, but not once did I question effort or heart. Trying and failing is fine for fans, to an extent, but what they don’t tolerate is not trying at all. Pitino can say what he wants and that may be how those inside the Kentucky program feel right now — we certainly haven’t made any friends over there recently, which is fine — but there has been a stark difference in the first nine games vs. the last three. That’s where they have deservedly been crushed, not general production.

Maybe it was the realization that Lowe was nearly back to himself and Quaintance was on the cusp of his debut, or that Mo Dioubate was the spark going 1-on-5 for rebounds and taking entire teams on by himself? Or maybe they finally took their criticism to heart and recognized just how much they were letting the fanbase down as the most underperforming team in college basketball with a couple of inexcusably gutless performances?

Whatever it was, rooting hard for this group is now coming naturally. They were gutless, then showed nothing but guts in that second half against the Hoosiers a week ago, winning in the trenches with defense and toughness. Fans reacted accordingly, acknowledging that while this IU team may not be a world-beater, giving a damn goes a long way. You can steal our hearts with a few dives for loose balls, defensive stops and second-chance scores. That continued into an emotionally charged battle between student and teacher, Pope taking on his former head coach under the bright lights in Catlanta. The offense was a disaster — especially when Lowe reinjured his shoulder after seven seconds on the floor — but hey, they fought and the C-A-T-S chants and Go Big Blues kept coming.

Then when the breakthrough came in the second half of both games, BBN was there to push these Wildcats across the finish line. Lowe fought through the pain like a warrior and put the team on his back while Quaintance had the debut of a lifetime, plus big days for Otega Oweh, Kam Williams and Malachi Moreno, leading to the 78-66 victory to move to 8-4 on the year with two straight wins against teams with a pulse.

You still have to take care of business vs. Bellarmine on Tuesday, but what Kentucky did was allow a hard reset going into the holidays and the start of SEC play. This stretch has given this group the benefit of the doubt. Was it the injuries or effort? Doesn’t matter, because at full strength, the fight was right where it needed to be. The on-court talent has improved, but so has the edge they’re playing with. They can now take the next two weeks and tinker with the offense while building upon their tangible defensive growth, knowing that it’s all salvageable with a resume slowly but surely coming together. No bad losses and two Quad 1 wins with 11 more opportunities to come during SEC play, plus whatever happens in Nashville? Last year’s group had 10 Q1 victories entering the SEC Tournament and earned a No. 3 seed. This one found itself in a massive hole, but to their credit, the Wildcats are digging their way out with reasons to believe — even if the identity is substantially different than any of us expected going into the year.

Heartless mercenaries? They’ve certainly shut me up on the first part of that statement these last two outings, showing nothing but heart. As for the second, we should probably remember that no matter the why, mercenaries are still trained professionals hired to kill. They may have been expensive with some egregious early misses on the young season, and it may not be the aesthetically pleasing product we all thought we were signing up for this year, but the trigger is now being pulled with back-to-back hits.

And judging by the jersey pops with Big Blue Nation roaring behind them and bench celebrations for every big play, it certainly looks like they’re starting to enjoy representing the name on the front, too.

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Kentucky

Kentucky ‘playing with joy’ heading into volleyball championship match

Published

12 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Kentucky ‘playing with joy’ heading into volleyball championship match

KANSAS CITY, MO ― On Thursday, No.1 Kentucky punched its ticket to the NCAA volleyball championship match by winning a five-set thriller against No. 3 Wisconsin that defied logic.

“Congrats, guys. We couldn’t have played any worse,” head coach Craig Skinner told his team in the huddle after Kentucky dropped the first set, 25-12, with a .056 hitting percentage.

The Wildcats, who will play Texas A&M for the national championship on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC), did not lead in a single major statistical category against the Badgers, but it didn’t matter. Kentucky clawed back and evened the match 1-1. The two teams traded blocks, kills and long rallies until late in the fourth set when two Badgers’ errors left the door open for the Wildcats. Kentucky, seemingly powered by Wisconsin’s mistakes, stormed out to a 6-1 lead in the fifth set. But, the Badgers weren’t done.

Fueled by massive nights from Mimi Colyer and Carter Booth, Wisconsin kept coming and pushed Kentucky to the brink. It took a colossal push from outside hitter Eva Hudson (29 kills on .455 hitting, seven digs), freshmen Kassie O’Brien and Trinity Ward, libero Molly Tuozzo (17 digs) and Brooklyn DeLeye (15 kills, 14 digs) to fight off the Badgers. Hudson slammed the door on Wisconsin’s title hopes with two final kills, but it was DeLeye’s defense in the fifth set (six digs) that made the difference.

“The cool thing about this team, I thought we’d done it all, and I thought we found every possible way to win, and tonight was a different way,” Skinner said after the Wildcats beat Wisconsin. “The way they played, the heart that they show is immeasurable. I keep telling them they’re transformational leaders in the way they go about it, what they’ve done for the sport.

” Proud of them. But the job isn’t finished.”

The Wildcats said they knew from the first practice in January that they would be playing for a national championship. Hudson revealed this week she didn’t think any growing (from the beginning of the season until now) was needed. She said she knows Kentucky is ready. In her opinion, it’s just a matter of soaking in the environment.

Deleye echoed Hudson’s sentiment about taking it all in. Yet, the junior did admit an underlying thought; none of the players on the Wildcats’ roster have been to a Final Four. Only Skinner has been to the national championship stage and won. He was an assistant on the 2020 team that brought a trophy back to Lexington.

Deleye shared that all year long, the Wildcats have been talking about their “why.” She says there’s a lot of pressure that comes with volleyball, especially in the SEC tournament and NCAA tournament, where they earned wins over UCLA, Creighton and Wisconsin. Yet, Deleye and Hudson both agreed the Wildcats are just out there to have fun and “play with joy.”

“In the last few games, have drawn smiley faces on our hands or somewhere where we can see it to remind us to play with joy,” Hudson said. “Some of the best times in volleyball, and when we’re really playing well, is when we’re all playing with joy and bouncing off one another. Kind of have those reminders in those pressure situations, too, is a really good thing.”

Kentucky said in the midst of their joy and between sets, they look one another in the eyes. Everything is moving at such a fast pace that the Wildcats want to take the time to connect and say “I got you” to each other to promote unity. They needed that same reminder deep in the match against Wisconsin when the season and a possible championship were on the line.

In a sequence that seemingly went unnoticed, DeLeye and Tuozzo took a brief moment to look at each other and nearly simultaneously make a “mask on” gesture. However, Tuozzo later explained that it wasn’t a “mask” she and Deleye were proverbially putting on. It was a helmet.

“Helmet on, ready to dig,” Tuozzo said matter-of-factly.

Deleye added when there’s an open hole or the block is not there, someone will typically step up into the seam, and “whatever happens happens.” Kentucky will live with the results, knowing it put its “body on the line.” With two losses this season and an impressive 28-match winning streak that also includes an October victory over the Aggies, Kentucky has maintained its composure throughout the NCAA tournament.

The Wildcats have taken multiple moments during the Final Four to talk about how their “accountability partners” have helped them. Players on the roster have someone who can pick them up on days when they may struggle and remind them not to get caught up in what they aren’t doing. That collective support and belief in one another started at the beginning of the season and has translated into joy at the highest levels of volleyball, something that has even impressed Skinner, who is in his 21st year of coaching.

“Because they play with such joy, I want to coach more players like that. I want players that you don’t really have to coach body language and enthusiasm,” Skinner said. “If you do, you’re spending all your effort on the wrong things. We can spend our energy on how do we put the pieces togetherand form a system to go around that.”

“(It’s) trying to find those people that are driven internally, and have an enthusiasm, infectious enthusiasm for life. Those guys, being around them every day, I look forward to that.”

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Kentucky

No. 12/13 Kentucky Tops Wright State on Friday

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

No. 12/13 Kentucky Tops Wright State on Friday

Clara Strack scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds as No. 12/13 Kentucky thumped Wright State 96-53 on Friday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.

Three other Cats also scored in double figures. Tonie Morgan had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. Freshman Kaelyn Carroll made six threes on her way to a career-high 18 points. Asia Boone hit five threes en route to a 17-point night.

Wright State scored first on a three, but Kentucky got baskets from Strack and Morgan to lead 4-3. After WSU scored, Amelia Hassett drained a three and the Cats led 7-5. Wright State tied the game at 7-7 before Morgan and Strack scored to give UK an 11-7 lead. However, Wright State scored the next four to tie the game again.

Strack made two free throws, and Morgan made one, to give the Cats a three-point lead. A Boone three extended the lead to 17-11. Strack scored two more buckets and the Cats had a double-digit advantage. A Morgan three-point play capped the 13-0 run that gave UK a 24-11 lead. Kentucky would lead 31-13 after one quarter.

Wright State opened the second quarter with an 11-4 run to cut the Kentucky lead to 35-24. However, the Cats responded in a big way. Threes from Josie Gilvin and Boone gave UK a 17-point lead. A Morgan layup, two Strack free throws, and threes from Strack and Carroll (three times) compiled a 22-0 run that ended the half. Kentucky led 57-24 at the break and Strack led all scorers with 18 in the first 20 minutes.

In the third quarter, WSU scored first on a free throw but a Strack basket gave the Cats a 59-25 lead. After three Wright State points, UK got layups from Morgan and Jordan Obi to lead 63-28. After a Raiders’ three, Kentucky went on an 11-4 run, sparked by another three from Carroll, to lead 74-35. The Cats would lead 74-37 after three quarters.

Kentucky scored first in the final stanza on a Strack basket. After WSU scored twice, Carroll hit another three to make it 79-41. Kentucky would build the lead to as many as 46 (96-50) before settling for the 43-point victory.

The Cats now take a break for the holidays before hosting Hofstra on December 28. Tipoff for that game is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.

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