Kentucky-Eastern Illinois Postgame Quotes
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE
November 14, 2025
Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Coach Mark Pope
Press Conference
Kentucky – 99, Eastern Illinois – 53
MARK POPE: He’s a terrific coach. He’s got a great team. They were down a couple of players tonight which made it hard for them. I thought it was a functional game for us. We have a ton of work to do that we are really excited about. But we are grateful for those guys coming playing, competing hard and made some shots and it was a good night for us.
Q After the Purdue game, you talked about how the balance and point distribution was something similar that you saw in your Natty team. Tonight, 10 guys found the basket, you had 5 scoring in double digit margins. What makes that play style so successful for this team and do you feel that it could be something more consistently relied on throughout the system season?
MARK POPE: It’s going to be really important for us. We are still learning ourselves and unfortunately for us we have to break a lot of stuff before we fix it. Right now is where we feel like we are, which is okay. Because the growing part of the season is incredibly painful and frustrating and leaves you with a lot of doubts. But it’s actually, if you step back, it’s actually a really beautiful process. So yes, this team is built to function like that and if we embrace it, then we have a chance to be good.
Q Mark, you made a comment yesterday about an out of character experience right before the Louisville game that kind of went a little viral. I was wondering if you would like to elaborate on that since you didn’t say much about it yesterday?
MARK POPE: We were walking in and Deb said, they might ask you about that saying yesterday. You guys know I’m a big Taylor Swift fan and I just like to leave out these little things that keep everybody wondering and guessing. There’s really not much to it. At some point, I will tell you the story. But I would like you guys to prognosticate on that for a couple of more days. It really is nothing. It’s just something about the emotional level of our team and I am still, like I said, I want to tease this out and let it play for a few more days but when we talk about it, it’s not going to be very interesting. It was just the way that we felt as a team and how we responded. Thanks for letting that float around for a while. It’s fun, right? It gives you something to write about and guess about an tweet about. I’m going to give you something else today, I’ve got to figure out what it is. By the way, the comment was very genuine, it was super genuine. I’m genuinely trying to, you know, I’m genuinely trying to learn this group for sure. So it wasn’t nonsense. Go ahead.
Q Two part. Any update on Jaland, and with all the injuries last year and Jaland has been hurt twice. Does that give you any concern to be overly conservative with Jayden Quaintance when he’s ready, does that play into it?
MARK POPE: You know, I don’t, I was going to say I don’t spend a lot of time worrying, but I think that might be a lie. The best me, the me that I would like to be doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying. We deal with things as they come. The beauty of the season. I would say with JQ, I have not spent a lot of time worrying. I’m just excited when he’s ready to go and it’s going to be fun. We have so much to figure out with JQ and he hasn’t been in any type of live-action and it will been nine months since he’s actually done anything live and had any contact at all. I’m way more curious than I am worried. I’m curious about how quickly he’s going to learn us and how he’s going to fit into the deal and what type of impact he can make and what type of player he’s going to be. I think players, you see them on film, and you look at their numbers. You kind of spend time with them and you get references. But there’s still a growing process once they actually get into us, into Rupp, into our style of playing and learning that. I think that’s where I’m more preoccupied is just fitting the pieces together. We don’t have anything yet. We will probably have some discussions over the next couple of days about what’s the best thing to do right now. That’s probably the point where we are right now. We’ve got a bevy of second and third opinions and right now is going to be more just the whole group, the whole medical team and mom and dad and Jaylo and me sitting down having a real conversation about what’s the best thing to do moving forward.
Q Coach, you just mentioned you didn’t like how the team was feeling the energy or how they responded on Tuesday night. How do you think they responded emotionally tonight and how do you think they will in a big game on Tuesday over at Madison Square Garden?
MARK POPE: I thought they were okay and I expect that we are going to be great. That’s what I think.
Q Mark, especially in light of obviously Jaland’s injury. I’m curious about the use of the big man to bring the ball up the court and we saw that a lot last year with Amari and obviously have some big men from a dribbling and passing capacity this year. How do you feel maybe Mo, Brandon, even Malachi would function and is that even something you would be willing to explore more happening guard?
MARK POPE: It’s one of the nice things about the way we play is we feel like we have a lot of options to go to on a need to basis. And there’s so much to learn and so, but yes, I feel a lot of comfort because I think we have a lot of options. It’s not really options like the ball is going to be in this person’s hands all the time. It’s just that there is alot of ways we can attack the game with guys that can potentially be play making deciders. I feel pretty good about that. I have a lot of comfort. That’s one of the beautiful things about our roster.
Q Mark, I know it’s so easy to second-guess and wonder about things and I guess what I’m curious about is you are up by 46 and you check back in the starting five with like 1.5 minutes to go. Are you trying to send a message to the backup folks or to the starters? Especially if you are saying you are worried about injuries. Some people would say what the heck is this guy doing putting the starting five out there when they up by that much?
MARK POPE: At the last media timeout, we had a little incident in the huddle, I’m not going to talk about that right now. Kidding, that’s a joke. I’ll be totally transparent. I’ve been really disappointed with, that’s not true. I’ve been disappointed with my ability and commitment to explain to our guys what it means to sprint back in transition defense. We’ve always said first three steps is a mantra. We went to sprint through half-court and still we were seeing not an effort that’s not a championship effort tonight, for most of the night, but in a moment of sheer inspiration towards the end of the game with all the frustrations that went on. I went to the guys and said, hey, we track wedges and we have teaching every time we don’t wedge, we have a teaching experience for those guys the next day in practice. Every time we don’t contest legal, we have a very focused on contesting legal teaching for 10 minutes, so now transition defense, the teaching moment is every time our guys are in a full sprint back in transition, a full sprint, it will be a ladder, a run. If you don’t sprint back in transition it would be 10 ladders. I was hoping for that number. We didn’t have enough possessions by the time I went to this. And then I wasn’t getting a great response so then we went to a 17 for every time that we don’t sprint back. And we are going to try to use that as our teaching technique and it’s actually really applicable. Run in the game or run in practice. It’s just a good teaching tool. We have beautiful guys. It’s just a communication lapse with the words I’m saying and them understanding how urgent it is. I put that on us on the group that was in the game at the media timeout and I wanted to give the starters a chance to run also and it was really functional for us and it was really good. It was probably one of the most productive things from the whole night. I think we will have some life in it and I’m going to invite the whole media post game maybe after the Michigan State game to the next practice and you can watch the guys run, it will be great.
Q Mark, obviously you discussed a lot this year about the value –
MARK POPE: Is not a punishment, is just genuinely just teaching, by the way. Go ahead, sorry.
Q About the value of one-on-one meetings with your players. We heard on the pregame show that during practice, you turn Otega Oweh aside and wanted to have a private conversation with him is there any insight into what you kind of said to him and what you want to see from him going forward this year?
MARK POPE: For all of our guys, this is just a learning curve. I will be really bluntly honest with you guys. I wish I was further ahead right now. I wish that I was further ahead with this group. Maybe it’s been complicated that, you know, I’m trying to figure out why I’m not further ahead with this group in terms of just this group’s identity. There’s a lot of contributing factors, for sure. So, like what I expect from the guys is that they embrace who they are, like they are here for a reason. They have very, very special unique quantifiable skill sets. And I want them to use them, I want them to celebrate them, I want them to be proud of them, I want them to love their game. And I talked to the staff about it today. It’s even a problem for me. Sometimes I see a way another coach approaches something or an anecdote they share or a style of coaching or an action that they run or philosophy of how they coach and you look around you are like, ahh, I would like to do that, I would like to do this, I would like to do the other. Sometimes, it’s always important to grow, but you never want to lose your self when you grow. You want to grow your self. The anecdote I shared with the guys is like if Tom Brady was really upset that Michael Vick, people thought he was a better running quarterback. Tom Brady said, you know what, I’m just going to run every time so I can prove that I am a great running quarterback. Nobody wants to see that, right? Us understanding where we bring our special sauce to the team is really, really important. Us growing as individuals is really important. But us knowing who we are and knowing what makes us special is really important as a staff, me as a head coach, our players, Deb as SID, the whole thing.
Q Coach, Mo had a quiet night against Louisville tonight and gets a double-double and shoots perfect in the second half. What does that say about him as a player that he can have such a quick turnaround and perform the way he did?
MARK POPE: I was proud of his focus and I didn’t think he was great defensively the first half. I thought he was great. He imprinted his self on the game on the offensive glass. In the beginning of the second half, he finally got around to having some impact defensively. I think we are leaving a lot on the table in terms of how disruptive we can be. And so, I thought he made some progress towards that. It’s going to be a big deal for him. Him and Otega should be buying for the best defensive players in the country right now. So far, they haven’t been close. And that’s ok. But for us to be great, they got to get there. And I thought we saw some good signs from Mo in that respect.
Q Mark, you sounded really bullish with Tom on the pregame show about Jasper at the one, specifically. Just what have you seen from him from that spot specifically that gives you confidence that he could really do some good things there?
MARK POPE: Yeah, Jasper was kind of getting to where he needs to go to on the court. He didn’t have his best night tonight. But I have a lot of faith in him that he can get where he wants to go. He is certainly not scared of the moment. I think he’s growing as a defensive player. I think he’s got an opportunity to be an elite level playmaking passer, especially against different ball screen looks. He just needs time right now. You know, he’s a little bit of a deflection guy trying to make reads off ball screens, especially when there’s pressure. It’s a place where he’s capable and gonna grow, just gonna grow fast. I think he’s a great option for us at the one. He’s an incredibly talented player. He’s going to be a star. You know, it’s just a learning process.
Q Coach, kind of a two-part question. You talked about in the off-season how players in the system in the second year make a big jump. It seems like at times tonight you on the sidelines were telling Brandon to slow down on offense and he struggled with a few turnovers and personal fouls. The first part is, what has it been like for him learning this new role and you talking about everybody learning and what makes this team special? And the second part, the end of the half you tried Andrija at the five, is that something you’ve thought about more while people are figuring out their roles?
MARK POPE: BG, I thought BG had some really terrific ball screen rotation defense communication tonight. I thought there were spaces where he was really good. Uncharacteristically for him, tonight, he kind of went away from the simple play and threw the skip pass 50 feet out of bounds to the corner when he could have just chosen DA early and then he chose the one hand, 75 foot full-court pass when he just had so many simple options in front of him. He got the offensive foul in transition where he kind of ran over a guy, which I’m not so upset about that because his force has been so much better this year than last year. His conditioning has been so much better. His communication has been so much better. Tonight, I thought he uncharacteristically was a little greedy trying to hit some homerun plays. Maybe it was the nature of the game but that’s not him. I do think there could be some space for –him at the five and some space for Kam at the 4 and in unique situations. We went to some zone underneath out of bounds, it was nice to get that on film and something we have been working on. A game like today affords you just a chance to get something on film so you can see it. It was only a couple of possessions, but I think capable for sure.
Q Mark, these conversations with Jaland get to a point where it becomes surgery and potentially a season ending thing. Are you confident in the current group of ball handlers you have right now or would you potentially look into some external help?
MARK POPE: I’m really confident in the group we have, I like the group we have a lot. I just think we have so much growing to do. I love this group. Thanks guys, have a good day.
KENTUCKY BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. EASTERN ILLINOIS
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY.
NOVEMBER 14, 2025
KENTUCKY PLAYERS
#3, Kam Williams, G
On coming in at the end of the Louisville game…
“I think it was pretty good. I’m not going to say I’m a perfect player. So, when my number is called, I lean on my team, so really just sharing the moment as much as I can.”On Michigan State…
“They got a good point guard, great bigs. I really think they bring a lot, so we got to make sure we see man, see ball and really try to contain them.”On playing in Madison Square Garden…
“It’s going to be good. I think my family is going to come over and I’m just overall excited and excited for my team. It’s going to be another good test on us.”
#4, Andrija Jelavić, F
On what happened on defense against Louisville…
“Yes, I mean like I said, we had really good defensive performances before, you know, there isn’t an exact reason but we were making bad. I think the biggest reason is they play so fast, so many transition points was because we made bad decisions on offense. We had turnovers as a result. They were attacking us three to one. They have more players and you know, it just looked like we played bad defense. I mean, we did but I think our turnovers were one of the reasons why but we’ll learn from it. They’re good players and we’re going to play even better teams and we need to be defensively the best team in the country if we
want to achieve our goal.”
On the mood in the gym after Jaland Lowe got hurt…
“I honestly am not really an emotional guy, but I really, I’m really sad, honestly, I got goosebumps when he yelled for B. Wells, our doctor, and when I heard it was the same shoulder I was really sad for him honestly. He’s a really good human being, outside of the court, very good player on the court, and I know how much this means to him. I know how much he hates this, and although he’s not showing it, I know how upset he is, and honestly, we’re upset but we need to stay strong for him. It’s nothing special for him to bounce back because he’s a strong guy that we shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. He’ll be back sooner than later.”
On how they responded as a team with the playmakers…
“I think we’re a team that no matter what player is missing, it doesn’t feel like it’s missing
because we really have a lot of players on each position and if Jaland went down,
Aberdeen, Chandler, Jasper, everyone steps up. It would be the same if someone else went
down. Some other guys will step up and that’s just the beauty and strength of this team.”
#23, Mouhamed Dioubate, F
On being empowered to handle the ball as a big man…
“They know I can handle the ball, so they just tell once I get the ball to start the break or give the pass ahead. Coach tells me that all the time, just run the offense and to start the transition offense, so that’s been a big thing.”
On the excitement levels for the Champions Classic…
“I can’t wait to play in New York. It’s going to be my first time playing in New York in my college career, so I’m going to have some family and friends come out to watch me. And it’s at the Garden. Every kid’s dream is to play at the Garden, so I’m looking forward to it.”
On the emotions from the Louisville game and who’s stepping up as a leader…
“I’ve been trying to do that a lot. Coming to this team, coach told me that one of the things that he wanted me to be was a vocal leader for the team. So, I’ve been one of the guys that speaks up when it’s time to be spoken too. Myself, Otega, and Collin have been doing a very good job as well. Even Malachi being a young guy he’s one of our vocal leaders. Especially on offense and throughout the game. He’s always talking.”
EASTERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH MARTY SIMMONS
Opening statement:
“I really appreciate the opportunity to play here. As a kid growing up, one of my childhood heroes played here, Jay Shilder. And so, I lost a lot of games and burned a little bit about that tradition year. The fans here are as good as anybody in the country, but just really appreciate our guys having the opportunity to play in this environment. I just wish we would’ve responded a little differently, but I give Kentucky a lot of credit. They were physical, they played extremely hard and took us out of pretty much everything we wanted to do, but hopefully we can go back and watch the tape and learn and get better.”
On how Kentucky played in the paint early on…
“We watched their game against Louisville and that was one of the most physical games I think I’ve seen, so we were certainly prepared for the physicality. Mentally, we don’t have the guys that can do that in practice day in and day out. If you look at the rebounding, 49 to 17, that is the part I’m just disappointed in and there’s a right way to play and the size doesn’t always have everything to do with it. You got to get out and block out the right way, you double team, you do the things you practice on a day-to-day basis, and you give yourself a chance. But again, all the credit goes to Kentucky. They were ready, they punched us right in the mouth, right from the get-go, and we never really regained any confidence.”
On the crowd cheering for Meechie (White) …
“I love it. Meechie is a terrific young man, anybody that knows Meechie, knows that he has one of the best personalities. He loves the game and loves the state of Kentucky. He understands the history and tradition of Rupp Arena having played here in the state tournament as a high school player. So, I think Kentucky fans are that way, they appreciate good players from their home state, and I would say that was pretty special.”
On Mo Dioubate’s great game…
“I just think it’s the entire team, their aggressiveness. They’ve got so many weapons out there and again, the physicality and for us to get those guys stops; one of one defensively it was tough, our rotation for them wasn’t very good. I think he scores the ball in a lot of different ways, he can make threes, he’s good off the dribble, he’s good on the offensive glass, but to me he’s just a very determined player. His size and strength just overmatches.”
