Kentucky is coming off an ugly 82-69 loss to Georgia in Athens, and physicality has become a big talking point for the Big Blue Nation. After a terrible shooting night to the tune of 37.5% from the field and 24% from deep, Kentucky again struggled with defenses that emphasize ball pressure and fighting through screens. A 0.57 Ast/TO ratio is the worst mark of the season, and Pope harped on this point today.
“I was a little disappointed we were down to only 29 assist opportunities and only 23 high value assist opportunities. Those numbers are low for us. In our [best] games, we’ve been at 36 plus in assists opportunities.” Pope called for better consistency on finding teammates and creating plays for each other because these numbers account for missed shots.
As far as physicality, Pope said “I think everybody is trying to be more physical, that’s one of the first things we reach for.” He detailed physicality comes from three aspects: Physics, Mentality, and IQ. Physics involves “having a low center of gravity, and kind of being the hit first guy.” The mentality of being physical is an “aggression” where you think “contact, contact, contact.” Kentucky has struggled to initiate contact, and this has been highlighted when Kentucky plays teams that emphasize this aspect. IQ was described as “when and where [physicality] is appropriate, and where it can be utilized, and where it’s important.” Kentucky is not physical in every aspect of the game, and Mississippi State will expose this weakness if the Cats don’t change the way they approach the game.
Speaking of Mississippi State, Pope said Kentucky’s next opponent is “really talented. They have an elite, elite, elite, elite, elite level scorer and playmaker in [Josh Hubbard].” Hubbard is tied for ninth in the conference in scoring with 17.1 points per game on 42.9% from the field and 38.2% from three. Hubbard had 34 points on Kentucky last season in Starkville, before Reed Sheppard hit a floated to win the game.
Pope compared Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews to Draymond Green. “He’s a really terrific, creative passer. He has an unbelievable sense of space and time away from the ball.” Matthews only averages 8 points per game, but he is second on the team in rebounds at 6.9 and leads the team in assists with 4.1 from the power forward position.
Kentucky has seen the trends in their losses, and the head coach is optimistic Kentucky can correct the small mistakes. Pope repeatedly said Kentucky needed to “tighten the walls.” While he wants less variance from his team, he also believes the coaching philosophy has swung too far in a certain direction in some respects. Pope detailed one example when discussing pick and roll defense.
“Our spot up numbers [on defense] have been ridiculous for the whole season.” He said they found some deficiencies in ball screen defense after the Ohio State game, and said the team’s numbers guarding the ball handler in a screen were only just okay. “We got cooked one night [in pick and roll] so we started leaning into a third defender with an early help and recover feel.” Pope concluded they had swung too hard towards defending spot up situations, and they needed to put more attention on ball screen situations.
While it’s encouraging our coach understands what problems his team is facing, the players have to prove they can make this adjustment on the floor. An away game against the #14 Bulldogs will put this to the test Saturday night at 8:30 PM EST. Join us here on Bleed Blue Network for a pregame show and live watch along as the Cats look to get back on track in a tough road environment.
Photo Credits to the Kentucky Men’s Basketball X account.
