Pope Turns Down Practice in Bridgestone Arena

[Farsight Clone]

So 7 of the 8 teams are going to practice in Bridgestone Arena but Kentucky.

Article

“We just wanted to reproduce the schedule of the day as best we could. So, we couldn’t do that with our slotted time there. And so this is — it also recreates our normal travel schedule. So we’re just trying to have our day before the game be as close in proximity to what we’ll face tomorrow as we can.”

“We’ve recreated the schedule. It’s just what we always do, trying to recreate the schedule. So, we had film at the same time we’ll have film tomorrow morning. We’ll start practice at exactly the same time we tip off tomorrow. And do pregame, just to kind of keep that whole routine the same, just to do the most we can to get the guys’ clocks adjusted.”

I am not sure what to think about this. But the last time we were there we shot bad. However, maybe Kam Williams will practice and play? I don't know.

What do you guys think about this?

 

[ukfan042]

This dude is not fit to coach here! It’s just a matter of time (unfortunately another season) until he’s gone

 

[Kantucke_rivals]

Pope's decision making abilities

This is the type of stuff that increases your odds of losing a game, it's all becoming more clear by the day.

 

[CELTICAT]

lemmings have better instincts than our ball coach

 

[CoachBrownfield]

Eh. Coach knows if routine matters for his group and it sounds like he thinks it does. It's not like a high school team going from playing in their gym to an arena with a major depth change. These guys have been playing in large arenas all year. If they don't shoot well, it isn't because they didn't practice at Bridgestone.

 

[KyWideWes]

We should probably do the opposite of our normal routine but okey dokey.

 

[SamePooter]

Pope is to smart for his own good.

 

[Cats192]

You really can't do something like this and lose.

Win tomorrow, and no one will talk about it. Lose, and it's going to be a big talking point.

 

[megablue]

Pope is to smart for his own good.

Think long, think wrong.

 

[OliverSimmonsTwinBrother]

Gotta get those naps in

 

[ScWildcat3]

Big nothing. Keeping routine especially for an early game is fine. Who cares where that practice took place. They will get plenty of shots tomorrow and played there already this year.

 

[theGspot_rivals175609]

Eh. Coach knows if routine matters for his group and it sounds like he thinks it does. It's not like a high school team going from playing in their gym to an arena with a major depth change. These guys have been playing in large arenas all year. If they don't shoot well, it isn't because they didn't practice at Bridgestone.

Yes, of course. Getting repetitions in the environment you will be playing in and previously struggled in would be a complete waste. We should just trust the guy who has lost 24 games in under 2 seasons. He clearly knows what matters!

 

[Cats192]

Big nothing. Keeping routine especially for an early game is fine. Who cares where that practice took place. They will get plenty of shots tomorrow and played there already this year.

On the surface, I agree. But man, you're giving another Pope sucks talking point if those doesn't work out. I guess on the flip side, if you lose on Wednesday of the SEC tournament, nothing else really matters.

I will say though, we got smoked in Bridgestone against Gonzaga. I can certainly see the value of getting guys used to the sight lines and such.

But if we come out and win tomorrow, no one will care about this.

 

[ScWildcat3]

On the surface, I agree. But man, you're giving another Pope sucks talking point if those doesn't work out. I guess on the flip side, if you lose on Wednesday of the SEC tournament, nothing else really matters.

I will say though, we got smoked in Bridgestone against Gonzaga. I can certainly see the value of getting guys used to the sight lines and such.

But if we come out and win tomorrow, no one will care about this.

They will shoot in there tomorrow before the game for that. It’s just being blown up because how the season has gone. They are still practicing just not there.

 

[Cats192]

Eh. Coach knows if routine matters for his group and it sounds like he thinks it does. It's not like a high school team going from playing in their gym to an arena with a major depth change. These guys have been playing in large arenas all year. If they don't shoot well, it isn't because they didn't practice at Bridgestone.

Based on his substitutions and rotations, I'm not sure Mark Pope knows what the team's routine even is.

I appreciate your points.

I also don't think this team "stays ready." We're prone to bad starts. And by prone, I mean it's pretty much all we do.

I don't think this will matter. But boy, we're going to hear A LOT about it if we lose tomorrow.

 

[Cats192]

They will shoot in there tomorrow before the game for that. It’s just being blown up because how the season has gone. They are still practicing just not there.

I certainly understand that they will practice today.

I do think sight lines and depth can vary gym to gym. So an extra hour of shoot around in the SEC Tournament arena may have value--especially for a team prone to bad stretches and slow starts.

Again, win tomorrow and no one cares about this. Lose, and it's going to be talked about a lot.

 

[ScWildcat3]

I certainly understand that they will practice today.

I do think sight lines and depth can vary gym to gym. So an extra hour of shoot around in the SEC Tournament arena may have value--especially for a team prone to bad stretches and slow starts.

Again, win tomorrow and no one cares about this. Lose, and it's going to be talked about a lot.

Yea it’s just bad optics. Extra hour of shooting isn’t going to magically fix your shooting in a building. He should’ve used it just to satisfy the crazies probably.

 

[Farsight Clone]

Pope is to smart for his own good.

You can be a smart person and not be smart at the same time. Pope may have a specific way of thinking that makes him smart, but so far it has yet to translate to basketball. I am sure he is super smart in the medical field.

Like for an example, all of us are smart in some degree on this forum, just in different ways. Smart doesn't mean black or white. I am smart in creative ways, while I am not smart in chemistry and vice versa.

I think Pope is smart, just not for basketball it seems. His overall record concludes that.

 

[Farsight Clone]

Yea it’s just bad optics. Extra hour of shooting isn’t going to magically fix your shooting in a building. He should’ve used it just to satisfy the crazies probably.

As someone who played basketball, it 100% does matter.

 

[ScWildcat3]

You can be a smart person and not be smart at the same time. Pope may have a specific way of thinking that makes him smart, but so far it has yet to translate to basketball. I am sure he is super smart in the medical field.

Like for an example, all of us are smart in some degree on this forum, just in different ways. Smart doesn't mean black or white. I am smart in creative ways, while I am not smart in chemistry and vice versa.

I think Pope is smart, just not for basketball it seems. His overall record concludes that.

Some other top coaches also struggled out the gate as a coach. Todd golden had 29 losses in 1st 2 years at Florida. Now look at him. Got a few guys to stay around multiple years and build a winning culture.

 

[ScWildcat3]

As someone who played basketball, it 100% does matter.

I played ball and shot in many arenas. The pregame shoot around is the only thing that matters for dialing in the sight lines. Also they played there already and play in Rupp which is a big arena. It’s all just bad optics from our crazy media.

 

[cat tat2]

Oh boy, can’t wait to see how this turns out.

 

[TFCat11]

Pope is the master of using a bunch of words and phrases to say absolutely nothing!

 

[jedwar]

Mark over thinks everything to his demise. It may seem like nothing but as poorly as we shot there earllier, I'd want to get some shots up.

 

[Bill_the_cat]

I read about teams practicing in hallways, lunchrooms, ball rooms, etc. But not using the given time on the actual court?

 

[peterpiper09]

It was the right decision no question about it. Once again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again people just want to find something to gripe about.

 

[ScWildcat3]

I read about teams practicing in hallways, lunchrooms, ball rooms, etc. But not using the given time on the actual court?

They are just staying in Lexington today and practicing. Not like they just aren’t practicing.

 

[GoAndRunIsGoneAndDone]

We don't even practice on our own home court...fwiw.
But didn't Cal do this exact same thing a couple or so years ago and it didn't end well?

 

[wccat]

Since we shot so well against Gonzaga, who needs to.

 

[JwUKFan11]

Doesn’t matter.

 

[wccat]

Oh boy, can’t wait to see how this turns out.

Play/shoot poorly and this will be mentioned.

 

[ScWildcat3]

We don't even practice on our own home court...fwiw.
But didn't Cal do this exact same thing a couple or so years ago and it didn't end well?

Pope has practiced more in Rupp. Cal never did for some reason.

 

[UKGrad24]

lemmings have better instincts than our ball coach

Man, I just can’t get over pope. I figured the one thing he’d be is intelligent and we’d always be prepared and well coached. He might be the worsr decision maker as head coach we’ve ever had.

 

[UKGrad24]

We should probably do the opposite of our normal routine but okey dokey.

Yep. Doesn’t look like they prepared much during the year. Maybe try practicing? But I guess he’s gonna stick with his routine of players run the asylum.

Maybe it’ll finally produce that story.

 

[UKGrad24]

Big nothing. Keeping routine especially for an early game is fine. Who cares where that practice took place. They will get plenty of shots tomorrow and played there already this year.

Yea this team doesn’t need to go over anything at all and they’re such top notch shooting team away from Rupp, no need in players getting time in an arena they’ve never seen.

some teams need to do that but this one nah. Just show up.

 

[Cats192]

It was the right decision no question about it. Once again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again people just want to find something to gripe about.

I don't think we'll know until tomorrow afternoon.

If LSU comes out guns blazing after using the time and we lose with a poor shooting day--it was probably the wrong decision.

 

[BlueBloodKyFan73]

lemmings have better instincts than our ball coach

 

[UKGrad24]

Mark over thinks everything to his demise. It may seem like nothing but as poorly as we shot there earllier, I'd want to get some shots up.

What is alarming to me is how badly he seems to misunderstand analytics. He doesn’t know how to apply it, or so it seems. That’s been the biggest shocker to me of his tenure, over all the other messes. How could he not understand how to apply analytics? It’s like he’s a freshman in college who doesn’t know how to even read them. Guy was at Columbia.

 

[*Fox2Monk*]

So 7 of the 8 teams are going to practice in Bridgestone Arena but Kentucky.

Article

“We just wanted to reproduce the schedule of the day as best we could. So, we couldn’t do that with our slotted time there. And so this is — it also recreates our normal travel schedule. So we’re just trying to have our day before the game be as close in proximity to what we’ll face tomorrow as we can.”

“We’ve recreated the schedule. It’s just what we always do, trying to recreate the schedule. So, we had film at the same time we’ll have film tomorrow morning. We’ll start practice at exactly the same time we tip off tomorrow. And do pregame, just to kind of keep that whole routine the same, just to do the most we can to get the guys’ clocks adjusted.”

I am not sure what to think about this. But the last time we were there we shot bad. However, maybe Kam Williams will practice and play? I don't know.

What do you guys think about this?

I think like everything else he does, it’s wrong. We have got blown out down there twice now and he decides.. nah we don’t need any practice down there fam. Let’s keep doing the same routine that gets us down 20 every first half. Genius stuff Whiff God.

 

[jedwar]

How anyone can say not getting in some shots when you can is the right call is beyond me.