Kentucky-Brown Postgame Quotes
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE
December 31, 2024
Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Coach Mark Pope
Press Conference
Kentucky 88, Brown 54
MARK POPE: Guys, I took a little bit longer getting out because I’m trying to keep you guys out of the club. I know you guys are headed right to the New Year’s festivities so I’m trying to keep you safe. This could be a four hour press conference because I’m keeping the guys in the locker room until we get done. I’m not doing that. Where’s Gary? Gary, hey. Can I just say man, congratulations. You are retiring today? Friday. Congratulations, man. I’m a huge fan. What you’ve done is super cool. That’s very cool. I told you guys this. The people that dedicate their life to sharing these kids stories and the stories of sport to the whole world, it’s a place where all of us find inspiration and example and I’m super grateful for you man, that’s cool. Now you can be at every game. Yeah, come on, let’s go. All right. Congratulations. That’s super cool. It really is, I’m really happy for you. Congratulations to Brown. Terrific team. They are going to be a really big time problem in the Ivy League. They have terrific talent. Mike does an unbelievable job of coaching that crew and we have a ton of respect for what they’ve done and already posted huge wins this year including a big time home win against Rhode Island. They gave Kansas all they could handle for a half. It’s a good team and they have really good kids and they are doing a great job. I was proud of our guys today. I was proud of us kinda ringing the bell defensively. It was really important to us. Minus some letdowns on the glass, I thought some guys were stellar. It was a season-high in deflections which is really important for us and our percentage is challenging shots which is really good and I think our guys had fun tonight. I told the guys I don’t think there is anywhere else in the world where you get to walk in on New Year’s Eve at 2 o’clock and have every single, 20,500 people packed in there to watch you play, you know, a mid-major team. It’s just incredible. I’m grateful to all of BBN. Take questions. Gary, you got the first one. Here’s the deal. I’m not going to be honest with any of you guys. But I will answer you. This is your one shot, baby. 100% transparency.
Q I guess about the start, a little rusty coming out. Did you feel like it was a matter of them settling into a pattern and then the shots would start to fall?
MARK POPE: Lee, have we ever lost? I don’t think I’ve lost going into Christmas, since I think Lee left. This is maybe my first year, I might be wrong. My first year at UV was the last time I lost going into Christmas. This is the worst, it’s miserable. But our guys handled it great. I thought we were brilliant to start the game defensively. We just turn the ball over three times in the first 90 seconds and from then on the guys ball protection was lead, I think we finished with four, did we finish with four or five turnovers? Five turnovers which I think ties our best or maybe one better than our best this season. They were motivated by aggressiveness. The first one was Andrew Carr comes up with a huge steal early in the possession and he’s racing down the floor and advances to Jaxson and Jaxson was not looking and kind of got held up. I was actually really proud of how the guys came out. I was really proud of their focus and not swinging too wide on the defensive end. They were really focused and I thought that was great.
Q Mark, at this point in the schedule, how challenging is it to maybe teach energy coming off of a game like that?
MARK POPE: Yeah, I think it’s such an important part of what we do. And it’s something that, you know, that just doesn’t happen. That’s something that you pay a ton of attention to and really focus on. It’s something we do with our guys on aindividual level by sending them positive or negative clips at 2 o’clock in the morning. Or putting your arm around them at halftime or laying into them in the locker room after one of the guys falls asleep in the film sessions, that’s never happened with us this season. And it’s teaching your guys how to cull the energy out of their teammates, right? How do they talk to their teammates, what do they see? It’s no different than anything in life that’s hard and demanding and arduous and full of stress and pressure. You are trying to tap into every possible way to find energy and our guys are good at it. We are pretty good. We are not flawless in that area, but we are pretty good and I think we have a chance to get better.
Q Mark, I think Jaxson said the phrase ball screen defense about 15 times when we talked to him yesterday. How far has that come the last week or so and then you mentioned the deflections. What was the number today and what led to that being –?
MARK POPE: I don’t know how we finished. I know at one point we were in the second half at 23 and was really good for us to get there in the second half. There was probably, you know we had a couple of days where it was basketball all day long. I think there was probably some points during the last week where all of our guys were struggling to remember if there was anything involved in the game of basketball except for ball screen defense. We repped and repped and repped and to our guys credit, they really worked on it. Listen, the greatest players in the world are trying to figure out how to guard ball screens in different scenarios. It’s going to be an ongoing process. I was incredibly proud of our guys the way they managed it and I thought it was an elite and I thought their communication was terrific on the defensive end and when we did make some mistakes on cutters away from the ball screen, I thought our guys did a great job with hands helping each other. We had one play in particular, actually, I will bring up that was really exciting for me. It was in the second half, early in the second half. One of the things we have been talking about was we try and keep ball screen defense down to two on two endeavor as much as we can because we want to stay with shooters and in response to some struggles we’ve had, we’ve been trying to incorporate those other three players to still be with shooters but to be early and help early and recovery and a bunch of different scenarios. Andrew Carr was on the right side of the floor and the ball screen was happening on the left side of the floor and he actually, it was OKC action, it was a Spain action where it’s a ball screen and back screen and the roll kinda came open a little bit early and Andrew came all the way to tag along the baseline and did it early, was there early and got a little tag. And then raced out to be there on the – with the reflection, almost came up with the steal, like the pick six steal. It would have been a pick two steal, or maybe a pick and one steal, but it’s little moments like that where we are like, okay, we are cooking, we are getting better. Right? That’s all we care about. Can we get better? And these guys did.
Q Coach, it seems like you tried a lot of different lineups and you went pretty deep in your bench. But Kerr is still out. What did you learn about those guys in those rotations and lineups before you head into conference play? It seems like you were trying a lot of different stuff out there as far as lineups and depth goes.
MARK POPE: Yeah, we are putting different guys together trying to figure out how they feel. We spent a lot of time in practice this week with Ansley and Andrew on the floor together, I’m sorry, with Andrew and BG on the floor together and Ansley and Amari on the floor together. So that mix-up of bigs, I think there is some space to make us look different. One thing I learned is that TP is going to keep working into these minutes of the points and he’s going to keep getting more and more comfortable. For him right now, he’s got so much more to his game than we are probably seeing in the limited minutes he’s had so far because he is still trying to get over the newness of it. But as he settles in, and he’s going to settle in under fire but as he settles in he’s going to be very, very, very serviceable and to the point. And Collin Chandler is made just an insane amount of progress on the defensive end. It’s brilliant, he was really good defensively tonight and really good off 2 feet tonight and really good as a playmaker tonight. And then, Trent Noah, the thing I learned about Trent Noah is he just verified it again is if we ever need a three, I need to sub him into the game and let him shoot it. He doesn’t need any warm-up time. He’s going to come mingone or two. We are learning a lot about how the guys fit together. You know, Koby. A lot of kudos defensively. I thought Koby was elite defensively. He did a lot of makeup ability plays tonight where he kind of came and blocked the shot later and stripped somebody late in a ball screen or penetrating rotation, I thought he was really good. Him, we kind of were playing with the numbers for a long time and there were some interesting things we learned about when him and Otega were on the floor together, we were trying to figure out what that means. We are digging into all of it.
Q Coach, you mentioned five turnovers in the game today, 18 assists, five turnovers might be one of the best margins of the season. Can you just speak to the teams cohesion and especially we are halfway through the point in the season and conference play and what that means going forward?
MARK POPE: It means everything for us. If you look at a lot of numbers on the stat sheet, they are important to us. This turnover, those numbers, they are just a manifestation of if we are playing right on the offensive end. The turnover number is an indication of if we are giving ourselves a chance of guarding on the defensive end. Those two numbers loom large for us and are really important and if we can stay above a 3 to 1 as a team, I would be elated and we have a chance to win a lot of games.
Q Mark, I think you referenced the upcoming SEC could be a bloodbath. What’s it going to take to survive that race and how important is it to have at home every time?
MARK POPE: Every game, you’re going to walk in and it’s going to feel like a tossup. And I think when you have that, it’s going to so much end up with – what does your teams execution look like? How capable are you communicating on the floor? Executing on the floor? I think its going to come a lot down to resolve. Like how much frustration are you capable of enduring? Where is your emotional reservoir at? I know that sounds like soft skills but that’s actually defining features of great games. It’s going to have a little bit of an NBA feel where you can’t get too high or too low because you don’t have time to emotionally rehab from letting yourself be devastated or elated. You play the number three team in the country and two days later you goingon the road to play the number one team in the country and then you are playing the number 10 team in the country. I think it’s going to be a matter of just those two things. Where are you on the execution scale and, you know, where are you on that durability scale, right? And those are going to matter.
Q Hey Mark, back here in the center. When you saw Kayden and Jasper out there on center court. What did you say to them and what did it mean to see them tonight?
MARK POPE: I was allowed to talk about this, right? I always get nervous. The rules are changing all the time. I was hyped. The truth is, I’m the last person to know anything, like I only know a lot about a very few things. I’m in the timeout talking to the staff and I looked up and those two kids are standing out there center court. I got so excited, it was the first time I’ve seen them on the court together and definitely the first time I’ve seen them on the court in Rupp with the joint field. I was like, this is going to be so fun. Like not even containable. Those two guys are going to be incredible. They’re going to work some real magic in this building and I can’t wait to get them here on the court in uniform. They are two beautiful beautiful kids that are really really talented and great competitors. It’s going to be fun to watch them grow. I’m super excited about those guys. Okay. Gary, congratulations. Happy New Year to everybody. Let’s go.
KENTUCKY MEN’S BASKETBALL POSTGAME QUOTES
KENTUCKY VS. BROWN
RUPP ARENA – LEXINGTON, KY.
DECEMBER 31, 2024
UK STUDENT-ATHLETES
#22 Amari Williams, C
On how important defense was…
“It’s what we practiced all week long, and it was good to come out and show them what we truly have.”
On him enjoying practicing defensive practices…
“It makes everything easy in the long run, especially when it comes to us playing the tougher SEC games ahead. It is going to help us a lot. Going into those games with confidence, knowing that we will have more practice when it comes to defense will be nice. Everything is going to work out.”
On how the guards performed today, compared to the game against Ohio State…
“It wasn’t only Lamont’s fault, as a team, there were a lot of things we lacked that we practiced this past week. As a team, we were extremely honed in and made sure we played with that confidence we usually have.”
#11 Travis Perry, G
On playing with Trent Noah …
“It’s a lot of fun, you know, to be able to go out there. I love watching him shoot the ball. I mean, I get to watch him every single day go out there, you have 300 shots to make in exercise every day, so just kind of see that work come to fruition. For him it is really fun, and then for me as well, just get to go out there and make plays and just have some fun on the court.”
On heading into SEC play …
“It’s always exciting. You know, I’ve watched SEC basketball for forever, so to be able to be a part of it is something that I’m excited for, and I’m excited for our team to get to go face that challenge. You know, it’s a completely different game. Whenever you’re playing against SEC teams. Every single night, there’s no rest, no off day, so it will be a good challenge, I think we’re ready for it. What is different about SEC play well this year, especially just the competition every night, like you might have a night during non-conference that some more guys get some more minutes, but every single play matters in SEC play, and just kind of the competitiveness of it. The slogan is, it just means more, and it really does every game is somebody that you really don’t like. So you want to go out there and take advantage all the opportunities and win every game possible.”
On the team’s New Year’s resolutions …
“We kind of went through them the other day. I think the consensus a lot of guys had a pretty similar one and it was to get more in the Bible, whether it’s reading a verse a day, trying to get through the New Testament or Old Testament in the year, or something like that. So I feel like those were good resolutions, and there’s some you know, we’re a good, good group of guys. I think we’re gonna hold each other accountable for them so those will be good for us.”
#7 Andrew Carr, F
On what he is looking forward to in SEC play…
“Just super excited about the gauntlet that we have in front of us. The league is super talented. For us to be as prepared as we possibly can to go out there and win a National Championship, which is what this league will prepare us to do, I think. Being able to bring crazy intensity each and every game and you’re going to get looks from top to bottom of the league. Not everyone plays the same, so it’ll be super fun to see our team grow throughout that.”
On importance of intensity going into SEC play…
“Super important I think for us, we wanted to recover a lot, take a couple of days to digest what Ohio State was, and be able to move on from that, put that into perspective. We had some good, intense practices and looked better. So, I think for us in a couple of our games we came out a little slower in the first half, responded in the second half, so thinking about better ways to be on top of it. Really looking forward to doing that in SEC play and seeing what this team has.”
On bringing the team energy today…
“Really trying to play with as much confidence and be as aggressive as possible early in the game, so I had it going in the first half and a lot of my teammates did a great job finding me and being able to make plays. I’m usually not as vocal and emotional, I try to stay as calm as possible. So there are moments that you’re able to spark something in the team and its really cool to be a part of that.”
BROWN HEAD COACH MIKE MARTIN
Opening Statement …
“Trying to take a little bit of a step-back and just think of the big picture of the opportunity our programs had the last two games, playing in Kansas then playing here. Great experience for our players. Great experience for everyone affiliated with our program. You know, obviously, I would’ve liked to perform better. Today, I think Kentucky did a great job of making us uncomfortable from the very beginning. Offensively we struggled to really get into a flow and run offense. Twenty-three turnovers led to 33 Kentucky points. Obviously, it’s going to be hard to stay within reach when that happens so. I thought our half-court defense was actually pretty good. They scored a lot in transition off our turnovers. In the second half, they scored in every way possible so, we’ll learn from it, and I know we will be a lot better because of these last two experiences.”
On what Kentucky did to force turnovers…
“It starts at the point of attack. Butler and Oweh are terrific defensive guards and obviously we have a terrific guard named Keno Lilly. You know, Keno was efficient offensively, but I think their pressure at the point of their defense, then obviously (Amari) Williams at the back end made it hard on us. They were trying to take us out of our zoom action, they denied a lot of hand-offs. Then we got a couple back-cuts early, but it wasn’t enough to loosen them up. So, I think it starts with those three guys, then their entire team and scheme defensively deserves a lot of credit.”
On his message to the team after halftime…
“Yeah, we thought, I don’t know, we had like 14 first half turnovers while down 12 here. Um, not bad. That’s what I thought, I thought our half-court defense was okay. They scored a lot off our turnovers. In the first half, we had a couple bad gambles. Obviously, we press most the game, the entire game. I thought we risked a little too much, too often in the first half that led to some points for them. Our message was like, ‘Hey, if we can take care of the ball and continue to guard in the half-court, we can get ourselves back into this game.’ And obviously, the second half didn’t start well, and I called a quick timeout. They were ready, Kentucky, to play and it’s impressive to watch what they’ve done in a short amount of time with so many new players. You know, how cohesive they are and how they share the ball, the 18 assists for them and only five turnovers. It’s just super impressive to see.”
