UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 9, 2024

Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Coach Mark Pope

Press Conference

Kentucky 100, Bucknell 72

Q Mark, especially after the first exhibition game, you said you weren’t thrilled with your team’s rebounding.  What do you think tonight? 

MARK POPE:  I’m really proud of our guys. As a coach it’s a blessing, I’m telling you, it’s a gift as a coach to have guys that are curious and guys that are humble and guys that want to get better.  We don’t use the words curious very often and we don’t talk about humility very often.  But we have a ton of that on our team.  For these guys to respond to a challenge.  We have been kind of sitting on this for maybe 10 days.  Like ahh, we are just not getting to where we need to get on the glass.  And for these guys to come up and put up almost 60 rebounds today is incredibly gratifying as a coach.  It’s a really important step for us as a team. And we are trying to get to 100.  Has there ever been a game with 100 rebounds?

Q Kentucky holds that record. 

MARK POPE:  Is that true?  100 rebounds?  Oh, man.  I’m usually really good at being hyperbolic.  Apparently, I wasn’t even close.  Well, I was kind of being sarcastic about 100.  Maybe that needs to be our goal.  Nonetheless, I’m really proud of our guys man.  The very first possession, we missed two jumpers in a row and got two offensive rebounds.  Just as twisted as I am, I was almost like – yes, we missed.  Because it gave us an opportunity to kind of set that marker from the beginning.  I thought our guys were really good throughout the game being super aggressive.  You think about our fours and fives. We had four guys that are playing the bulk of the minutes, the four and the five.  They all have three or more offensive rebounds.  And that’s pretty cool.  Really a tremendous effort by those guys.

Q Mark, Kerr has always had good assist numbers but he has also put up a lot of shots in the past.  Did you know you were getting this kind of player that passes up wide open shots to get even more wide open shots?  Or was that something that you talked about earlier in the process? 

MARK POPE:  I knew, I have to be careful.  I think I knew exactly who I was getting. I’ve been recruiting Kerr for I think, I don’t know, seven years or something.  I’m telling you, he’s a real special player. He’s a real special young man.  It’s super special for him too.  Because his mom is here in town and she’s been here the last few days. For him to kind of bring that kind of juice and panache and skill and excitement and unselfishness and kind of magic to the floor.  The emotion that he brings to the floor.  He’s calling timeouts for our team and the other team.  Heaven help us, but I love him.  I love him. And our guys love him.  You love him as a teammate.  He’s just a special person.  You talk about great teams are built on a group of guys where they embrace kind of their space on the roster and they make it bigger than you can possibly imagine.  He is trying to do that. He is trying to take his space on this team and try to make it bigger and be the greatest – that’s what he said. He said that this summer.  He said that was his commitment to the team is I’m going to be the best pace guy in the country.  And he is committed to doing that.  And he’s brilliant to watch.  He’s fun to watch, yes?  It’s fun.  All the mayhem.  I’m really proud of him.

Q Mark, I know it’s early in the year but this is starting to feel like a roster where you are going to get a spark from someone every game and you might not have a clue who it is ahead of time.  Is that right? 

MARK POPE:  Yes, the game is – when you have guys that’s about winning you have the luxury of letting the game, of reading the game and figuring out what the game is telling you and how you are going to actually attack the game.  You don’t walk in and try to force and impose your will stubbornly on the game and try to twist it into knots to try to get where you are going.  You actually get to go see how a team is guarding and say, okay, great, let’s go.  Or see what’s cooking tonight and say – okay, we certainly have a team of unselfish guys.  I don’t like unselfish, actually.  That’s not the right way to describe it.  We have a group of guys that love each other and they love walking in this gym in front of BBN.  They love putting out Kentucky jersey on their chest.  They love making each other look good.  They love cheering for each other.  And when you have a group like that it can be really fun.  I think our fan base is going to feel that more and more from this team and that’s pretty special.

Q Coach, we talked about Kerr and talked about sparks off the bench.  What does it do for your team when Kobe and Kerr come together like that and provide the spark that they did tonight?  How important is that for you guys going forward? 

MARK POPE:  It’s going to come from all different places, right?  We have so many guys that can be major contributors.  Kobe was ridiculous again tonight.  I told those guys all summer he was the most efficient player in college basketball. He’s a 1.8 – is it – what is 20÷11?  Is it 1.81?  1.82?  Points for possession?  Who’s got a calculator?  What is 20÷11?  I should know this.  I’m embarrassed, actually.  It is 1.8 what?  1.81?  So, it was 1.82 then.  Don’t cheat my guy.  He is a 1.82.  If you don’t know analytics, that’s sick, that’s crazy on 14 shots to be a 1.82.  That’s pretty fun.  He’s just like a maestro.  He’s having fun right now. I’m really proud of Kobe because he’s, you know, like all of our guys trying to figure out their space and where they fit and if it’s really going to work or not.  And he is boldly committed to going and loving this game is much as he can and he sure has put together back to back games that’s really special. That’s who he is.  1.8, guys.  1.18 on 14 shots.  Do you know how hard that is to do?  It’s incredible.  Awesome.  You guys are not feeling me.  I’m getting blank stares.  Okay, go ahead.

Q Bucknell’s coach.  He wouldn’t admit it but it had to be one of the biggest games of the season for him. Maybe a couple of seasons.  Brings his team in.  You’ve got to match his energy level.  And you talk about controlling emotions and regulating limbic systems and such.  Knowing your team, how good are they in being able to ratchet things up or down?  That’s going to come into play Tuesday night. 

MARK POPE:  Hopefully we don’t or never ratcheting up and down.  Meaning – you’re right.  We have to ratchet up and down to get to the same space every single game.  Right?  That is way more artistic than scientific.  I would love for it to be scientific.  I’m not that smart enough – I’m not quite smart enough or that.  So yes, we are paying very much attention to the energy we are feeling from our guys and where it is coming from and how it gets there.  We are trying to manage our pregame and our walk-through to kind of compensate to where we might be at energy wise to get to the same place every time is really important. We are an energy team.  Energy is massively important to us. There were times tonight where we were dealing with loads of frustration actually.  We had an onslaught of frustration which was really good for us.  And I thought we had some guys deal with it well over time.  Eventually we will be able to deal with it quicker.  But we had frustrations from the staff and frustration on the floor.  The game is going to give you so much frustration.  That was really helpful for us tonight.  Also, Bucknell’s physicality from minutes 12 to 4 in the second half.  Their physicality was tremendous.  That is going to be really important for us going forward.  To feel that and understand how we respond energy wise to that.  We are managing it great and hopefully we will do it well.

Q Mark, their center coming into this game was putting up monster numbers.  What kind of lead you guys to success in getting him in foul trouble early?  Was that part of the game plan to attack him there? 

MARK POPE:  Yes, the answer is yes and yes.  He is a terrific player.  He’s coming off a huge game.  We talked about this in pregame.  I don’t know if we’ll face another center that will score 32 points in a game anywhere this season against any opponent.  There’s not a lot of centers doing that. He’s really capable and really skilled and a veteran-veteran player.  He’s one of the highest usage guys in the country.  So, he is getting a ton of catches to work with so he’s getting a lot of experience that way.  I thought Amari Williams started the game brilliant on both sides of the ball.  We wanted to attack really quick and they were paying attention so we got some trail five ISOs and then they respond to that later by just sending massive crowds and we didn’t handle that well.  And then, on the defensive end.  His bailout was catching the bull’s head post catch to be able to pace up and space the floor and go to work.  Amari was unbelievable at a couple of things. One, he would not let them get to his chest. He’s so good at getting to your chest and once he gets to your chest he can really spin through your body.  Amari refused to do that.  Amari was unbelievable with his arm bar keeping space and then he was unbelievable about catch and then move, catch and then move and making this a game about his feet and not about his length and height.  He was unbelievably focused.  He did a great job against a terrific player.

Q Mark, you talked last game about Travis and Trent will find their way eventually.  I’m curious that really goes for any freshman.  They are used to playing every game their whole lives.  How hard is it when you do get a chance not to try to overdo something and then to adjust to that role? 

MARK POPE:  It’s hard.  It’s really hard. It is one of the great challenges in your life as an athlete to kind of be there and then come in and play really important minutes.  Because of the analytics now, these last four minutes are just as important as the first four minutes.  It really doesn’t matter the margin of victory.  It is the efficiency, right?  We have to put just as an efficient offense and defense product on the floor the last four minutes.  If we don’t, we get hurt.  Those numbers matter in our evaluation for seeding and determines everything else. Those guys have a massive responsibility. This is not throwaway time.  They had to come in and be great. I’m telling you, these kids are built differently man.  I don’t know if I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching young guys that are in this situation that have been as great as these kids are.  It bodes well for their future.  We talked about it in the locker room after.  Every single one of our players have been in exactly the situation they are right now.  It also, if you treat it right.  You know, a skilled sailor has never been born on smooth seas.  Right?  It’s just the truth.  A skilled sailor has never been born on smooth seas.  This is rough waters for those guys in a sense that Travis Perry has never not started a game much less not played the bulk minutes of the game.  He’s got this challenge and he’s got these rough waters in front of him right now. One of two things is going to happen.  He’s either going to use it as a tool to make him one of the great players in college basketball eventually.  Or he’s going to succumb to all of the frustration that it wants to bring.  These two kids are built different.  I know where they are going to end up.  They are going to end up really special.

Q Mark, I understand you guys take things game by game, day by day and all of that stuff.  With Duke looming on Tuesday night.  From the exhibitions, from Wright State, from tonight.  What are you happiest about and what are you most pleased about with your team going into what’s going to be a pretty stern examination? 

MARK POPE:  I like how our guys are responding.  This is the thing, we been sitting on this rebound issue for like I said, 10 days now.  And what an epic response.  Right?  And just a commitment.  The guys as a group said we are going to go fix this.  It’s been really impressive to see when we point our guys in a specific direction their willingness to commit to it and that bodes well for us being able to grow throughout the course of the season.  You know, we are playing good basketball right now.  We have a chance to grow into a great team.  Now we have to earn it and we gotta work on it and we got to get better every day. I have high hopes because our guys, we want to take some focus and run with it.  They certainly did that tonight on the glass.  It was awesome.  Thanks guys.

KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. BUCKNELL
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY.
NOVEMBER 9, 2024 

KENTUCKY STUDENT-ATHLETES

#4, Koby Brea, G

On what makes this team special …

“Just unselfishness. I think we showed it throughout the four games that we played so far, but every day, like we show it even more and more. It’s just the love that we have for each other, just being willing to sacrifice, you know, your own shot, for an even better shot. And I think if we keep playing that way, then we’ll have a lot of success.”

On if the team practices the “no look” …

“We actually do, we actually do. A lot of people think that it’s just something that we do in the games, but we actually like work on that a lot, just to confuse the defender’s possession. But I think Kerr does it the best out of everybody, he’s definitely shown it a lot, and I’m just intrigued to see how much more he does it throughout the year.”

On if the maturity of this team has contributed to their success …

“Most definitely. I think, you know, early on in your career, you’re kind of trying to make things happen on your own, and as you continue to play the game, especially with other guys that are also experienced, you kind of just let the game come to you a little bit. The ball is going to find the right person to play the right way.”

#15, Ansley Almonor, F

On the emphasis put on rebounds from Coach Pope…

“We have been talking about it all week and after the last three games. We haven’t been doing what we should be doing on the board. So that has been an emphasis in practice and even before the game today we talked about it. That was something we wanted to go out there and dominate on today and we did”.

On what the practices been like in terms of increases in physicality and positioning…

“It’s more of a combination of everything. It is more mental, that is what rebounding is. You got to go out there and want to get the ball, and that’s what we did today”.

On your confidence on corner threes…

“I have been working on that a lot this season and offseason and that is one of the shots you get a lot in this offense, so I have been working on it a lot and I’m pretty confident”.

#77, Kerr Kriisa, G

On playing with his mom in town…

“I tried to play the same way, I’m just so into the game I don’t think about that stuff. I am just happy that I can get a hug from my mom.”

On having 12 assists…

“I don’t really play for my stats, I just got to thank my teammates. They make the shots that I pass and I don’t have much to add, I don’t play for stats though.”

On being the best pace guy in the country…

“That’s something I really take pride to. The system we play you’ve got to have good pace and thrust. That’s like maybe when I say I don’t play for stats, I want to be the guy on the pace terms that pushes it. We don’t have guys that play over 30 minutes, so always fresh legs. You’ve got to go in for five or six minutes, give it all you got and then you’ve got to go back to the bench. I’m happy I’ve been able to do that so far.”

BUCKNELL HEAD COACH JOHN GRIFFIN III

Opening Statement …
“First of all, Mark Pope has done an excellent job of assembling a roster of very good basketball players, very good college basketball players and they’ve quickly through hard work – I can only imagine – found the magic wand of unselfishness and it’s impressive. I thought that we had two strong showings on the road and been in some I wouldn’t say hostile environments necessarily like this, but certainly good college basketball venues where we were challenged from the tip and responded well. So, coming into this afternoon I felt like we had a team that was at least mentally prepared for the challenge and Kentucky’s offense was a little faster than we anticipated of getting the ball up the floor. To the analytical preparation that we do as a staff, we kind of do a deep dive into BYU and how fast they scored off of made baskets which to me, his made basket point per possession at BYU was more impressive than his missed baskets points per possession. So, we had a pretty strong understanding that they get the ball up the floor quicky looking for an advantage and when they had one, they would play to that advantage, and I thought we just weren’t able to find our footing. And in an environment like this the reason we were so lucky enough to get down here but for me, for our program – it was to be tested. We want to be in the NCAA Tournament make no mistake about it. We want a team similar to Kentucky come March and we need to experience adversity like the NCAA Tournament the better we will be – trust me. It was a great experience for a mid-major college basketball program. One of the eight college basketball programs that has had nobody from the undergraduate standpoint enter the portal and I’m very proud of that. And the reason I think that we didn’t have people enter the portal is because we’re a program that provides opportunities such as this where we go to the blue bloods of the world and compete and so we just check the box for our program in a number of ways. I’m proud of our competitive effort all the way to the finish – it’s an unbelievable basketball environment. You know my first job I told Coach Pope, my first job in the business was a video coordinator for Jim O’Brien at the Indiana Pacers. O’Brien was the assistant to Rick Pitino and one of the people that took me under their wing was Walt McCarty and I know Walt was loved around here. So, I already have a great education into Big Blue Nation and then along with that we have Nate Sestina who entered Lexington from Lewisburg by storm and I’m sure he captured the hearts of many like he did at Lewisburg and so this was a unique opportunity – and I’m glad that we did it.”

On gameplay against Koby Brea…

“Yeah, I mean good question. I was the assistant head coach at Saint Joe’s for four years, so I am more familiar than most as it relates to Koby Bera and his 3-point shooting prowess. Having scouted Koby Brea before, I have not seen him miss twice in a row. And that was very clearly communicated but until you experience it, he’s a professional shooter, make no mistake about it and I think they recruited knowing he’s the best shooter in the nation from a three-point-percentage standpoint.”

On film preparation against Kentucky…

“When you watch Kentucky obviously, they take a lot of 3 so when you play an opponent like Kentucky that doesn’t take the first shot available unless it’s a good, by their staffs standards, a good shoot. You know, you have to be aware of the distance of where these shots have been taken from, long shots normally equal long rebounds. I thought some of the rebounds, were basically able to pursue the areas that we weren’t able to physically reach them. You know, we had, I would say if we go back, we had the proper inside position but we play style play like Kentucky does, long shots and long rebounds. Like you’re prepared for an opponent like this and we played Duke last year at Cameron Indoor. You go into these really fun college basketball environments, you try to prepare for as much as you can, at the end of the day, you want to be able to check every box. We out-rebounded our first two opponents and this was a scenario where we absolutely grow from. Again, I’m gonna kinda go back to this thought here, they (Kentucky) have really good college basketball players. When you have a team full of really good college basketball players what you see is the ball moving with under ten minutes of the second half, with nobody holding it, hoping to get points per game. And when you have a really good group of college basketball players they’re gonna attack the glass when they see an advantage and that’s what they did.”