If we have learned anything about Mark Pope this week, it’s that he will be brutally honest, almost to a fault. That was highlighted by him shining light on what transpired before the game at Louisville
on Tuesday, if anything even happened at all.
Pope made it clear Friday night that it wasn’t really anything that transpired, but he has left fans and media members speculating what he meant both Thursday, when he first mentioned it, and Friday, when he sort of gave meaning to what he said Thursday.
One thing that is clear, though, is that Pope believes this team should be “further along” than it currently is. He mentioned that Friday night following Kentucky’s 99-53 win over Eastern Illinois.
“There’s a lot of contributing factors for sure,” Pope said. “What I expect from the guys is that they embrace what they are. They have very special, unique, quantifiable skill sets. I want them to, like, celebrate them, be proud of them, love their game. Us understading where we bring our special sauce to the team is really important, Knowing who we are and what makes us special.”
Look, beating any team by 46 points at home is a good win. Kentucky also out-rebounding Eastern Illinois 49-17 is extremely impressive. Five players scored in double figures, including a team-high 20 points from Mouhamed Dioubate.
Has this team played its best basketball yet? No, far from it. But there’s still plenty of time to do so, including next Tuesday night against Michigan State at Madison Square Garden in New York.
