The Mark Pope Show presented by UK HealthCare, December 8th 2025

The Voice of the Wildcats, Tom Leach talks with head coach Mark Pope

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
There is no world.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Let's sport.

Speaker 3 (00:17):
Let's apply, yes, man, come on.

Speaker 4 (00:21):
Let's go, Let's go back, Oh provision, let's street.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Fall right, can't tell the fucking drive?

Speaker 2 (00:39):
What makes us different than everybody else?

Speaker 5 (00:42):
Is U.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
From the UK s Sports Network.

Speaker 6 (00:46):
This is the Mark Folk Show presented by UK Healthcare.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
To talk to Coach Pope.

Speaker 6 (00:52):
Called the Clark's Pumping Shop phone line at eight five
nine two eight zero Cats that's eight five to nine
two eight zero two two eight it or state wide
at one eight hundred six oh six game that's one
eight hundred and six six tour two sixty three.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Guys, guys down.

Speaker 6 (01:11):
Or you can tweet questions too at UK Sports Network
for the Mark Pope Show, presented my UK Healthcare begins
now alongside the coach. Here's the Voice Sun the Cats,
Tom Leach.

Speaker 3 (01:29):
Good evening and welcome into our show, Coach Pope, so alongside.
We'll be here to talk Kentucky basketball for the next hour.
And if you want to reach us, you can do
so two ways on social media. You can send in
the questions on x via at UK Sports Network, or
you can text your questions on the Clark's Pump and

(01:50):
Shop Text line eight five nine, two oh three one
two three four coming up, we'll chat with Coach Pope.
We'll also check in with a former Wow okay, like
we did with John Pelfrey a couple of weeks ago
and he was bringing his team in to play the Wildcats.
But Kevin Greevy is gonna join us and we'll reminisce
a little bit about the resumption of the Indiana series

(02:10):
coming up at the end of this week. But it's
UNC Central tomorrow at RUPP seven Eastern Time, Tip on
the SEC Network and the UK Radio Network, So get
the questions coming in. We'll get with Coach Pope when
we come right back. Tis the season to give and receive.
For every one hundred dollars in Malone's gift cards you purchase,
you get a twenty dollars bonus skift cards available in

(02:30):
store or online at Bluegrass Hospitality dot com. It's The
Mark Pope Show presented by UK Healthcare on the UK
Sports Network.

Speaker 6 (02:40):
You're listening to The Mark Pope Show, presented by UK
Healthcare on the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
The Mark Pope Show is brought to you.

Speaker 6 (02:49):
By Coca Cola, Apple Wachian Regional Healthcare Little Caesars and
by UK Healthcare.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Tell me who's in that house tonight?

Speaker 2 (02:58):
UK fight every single day for every single one.

Speaker 6 (03:08):
The Mark Pope Collins Show is brought to you locally
in Lexington by Baptist Health, Licker Varn Skyline, Jilly Kroger
and buy Toyota.

Speaker 3 (03:18):
Heyy Beautiful of.

Speaker 4 (03:20):
Fife God catch the Wildcats in Lexington all season long
on your home for Kentucky basketball, the UK Sports.

Speaker 7 (03:32):
Network, Toyota Thona is on and there's no better way
to get in the spirit of the season than with
a new Toyota. Now through January fifth, get two point
ninety nine APR financing on remaining new twenty five Tacomas
excludes TIERD Pro and Trail Hunter or Lisa Well Equipped
twenty five Tacoma SRBI for two fifty nine a month

(03:52):
or thirty nine months with thirty nine ninety nine do
its signing with APPROFD credit through TFS Text Title and
License Extra. Call one eight A to a thirty six
Toyota Fruit details or go to Toyota dot com Toyota
Let's Go Places.

Speaker 8 (04:06):
There's an er that's built for you Buil to make
your drivetime shorter. When every second counts. Built to give
you and your neighbors a trusted place to go when
something is wrong in an emergency. The er at Baptist
Health Hamburg is here for you twenty four to seven
with convenient patient centered care. Learn more at Baptistealth dot

(04:26):
com slash built for Hamburg. Baptist Health Hamburg is an
apartment of Baptist Health Lexington.

Speaker 1 (04:34):
The holidays are full of hustle and bustle, but at.

Speaker 9 (04:36):
UK Federal Credit Union, we believe in slowing down to
find the joy in the season. Sharing a meal with
friends and family, giving back to those in need, embracing
loved ones beneath the twinkling lights and cities across the Commonwealth.
These are the moments that remind us what the season
is truly brown. So y'all, with every smile, every laugh,
every kind word, let's be the joy that Kentucky needs.
Be the joy Kentucky. UK Federal Credit Union the official

(05:00):
credit Union of Joy. Membership eligibility required, fairly insured by NCUA.

Speaker 10 (05:04):
The new DQ Crispy Onion Cheeseburger seven dollar meal deal
has everything you could want and more. First, there's the
juicy cheeseburger that comes with melty cheese and crunchy Crispy onions.
Oh and a full size order of fries and a
drink and a Sunday And did we mention that it's
all just seven bucks. At participating DQ locations, enjoy every

(05:26):
and with the new Crispy Onion cheeseburger seven dollar meal
deal here for a limited time right now at DQ.

Speaker 6 (05:32):
Happy Tastes Good.

Speaker 3 (05:45):
Watch BBN Game Day presented by c CHI Saint Joseph
Hospital all season long. The show airs on Saturday mornings
at nine on wl e X here at Lexington. Check
UK athletics dot com Slash UK Sports Network for TV
affiliates and times in your area. Fans outside the state
can watch at UK athletics dot com, Slash Videos or

(06:06):
on the Kentucky Wildcats Facebook page. As we are joined
by coach Mark Pope. How you doing.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
I'm so happy to be here. I can't even tell you.
I'm so happy to be here. Well, it's good to
see you you as well. It's going to be here
with this incredible group. Thank you all for being here.
I was walking around the tables and I don't know
what's going on with these cookies, but they look so
painfully delicious. I'm hoping everybody eats them before I get
a shot at them. What's been going on for you

(06:32):
and your guys? It's a rough night on Friday, Well
it's been rough. It's you know, when you have a
rough night, it continues on into a rough morning, and
a rough afternoon, a rough night, and so on and
so on. But it's it is like a it's a
major overhaul reconstruction. It's been super emotional and really taxing,
and it times really ugly and violent and growing and

(06:57):
crying and all the stuff. It's just, you know, there's
a there's a certain amount of gnashing of teeth that
goes on when when you're not functioning well the way
that we should and and so it's it's, Uh, it's
been really challenging, exactly as it should be, and uh
it's a fight. And so I love this group. I

(07:19):
think that when it's all said and done, this group
is going to accomplish great things. But man, it's hard
right now, and and we're reconsidering everything. It's not where
you want to be at this point in the season
where you're you're trying to rethink everything you do. Uh,
there's a lot of things that we know we can
get done. We're learning about ourselves. But it's it's, uh,
you know it just as it's exactly what it should

(07:40):
be when we're performing the way we should It's pretty
sleepless and and pretty tough and and and but it's
also exciting and and and you know, I love the
I love the drudgery, I love the frustration, I love
the I love the challenge of it.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
Obviously, reconstruction is not a word you want to be
having to use at this judge.

Speaker 2 (07:59):
You know that's a exactly right.

Speaker 3 (08:00):
So what how much of what the details of reconstruction
means can you share with the BBN.

Speaker 2 (08:07):
Well, I can't say a lot of the words that
are flying around right now, but I can I can.
It's listen, this is what it is. It's it's I think,
whenever thing, whenever a project is going poorly, you kind
of have to go back and strip it bear and
get back to core principles that you know that you
believe in, no matter what happens when loser, draw core

(08:29):
principles that you believe in. And so we've you know,
we're working our way towards that, and we're we're continuing
to try and raise standards on the most minuscule simple things.
We had. We had a big group in to watch
practice today and it was it was it was pretty
salty and it was you know, usually when people come

(08:51):
into practice, I think they come in practice they feel
all the joy and and love that we want to
espouse here Kentucky. And right now I think that group
they were wonderful, they were unbelievable. Uh, but it was
a salty, hard, fought a little bit of an angry
practice and and it's just it's what we need right now.

(09:12):
It's exactly what we need right now for us to
grow out of this.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
Questions about effort, heart fight, whatever word people use, those
are not fun for an athlete to hear or coach,
I'm sure. So what are your thoughts when you hear that?

Speaker 2 (09:30):
Well, it's it's distressing, and it's it's listen, here's the deal.
We're you know, we we hit. We had a terrible
performance on Uh. I don't even can't even remember what
day or night it is now, it's Friday night, yes, Uh,
And we were we were, we were We performed poorly,
we executed poorly or together as was poor. There was

(09:51):
nothing good about it, and so everything that comes with
that is supposed to come with it, and and and
so that's just that's just the normal. The solution is
to play great basketball, and that's the only thing that matters.
And the solution is to be committed to each other
and fight for each other. And that's the solution. There's
no there's no like massaging it or or you know,

(10:15):
trying to talk somebody out of it or anything like that.
It's just like, you know what, go prove it. And
that's where we are right now. And and that's easy
to say and sometimes complicated to do, but that's the
process for and so it just is, it's it's, it's
it is, it's exactly it's exactly what you think. It is.

Speaker 3 (10:35):
More of a coach pop when we come right back.
It is the Mark Pope Show, presented by UK Healthcare
and this is the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
Stay connected to the Cats with that Big Blue Brew,
the official newsletter of you Cathletic. It's free, it's daily,
and it's all things can suck. Sign up now at
UK athletics dot com backslash Big Blue Brew. That's UK
Athletics dot com. Backslash Big Blue Brew.

Speaker 11 (10:57):
Hey Wildcat fans. Little Caesars, the home of Hot and
Ready Pizza, invites you to try our world famous Crazy
Bread with Crazy Sauce, Caesar Wings, Italian Cheese bread, and
our new cookie Old Browning dessert.

Speaker 1 (11:10):
And Little Caesars we begin each.

Speaker 11 (11:12):
Day with dough made fresh from scratch, fresh never frozen
cheese and the tasty is topping.

Speaker 1 (11:19):
Little Caesars is also a proud partner of.

Speaker 11 (11:21):
UK Athletics and an enthusiastic member a Big Blue Nation.

Speaker 6 (11:25):
So Go Cat Pizza Pizza.

Speaker 12 (11:27):
Oh right, all right, it's a beautiful day for football
here at the stadium and we're just about ready for kickoff.
Score zero zero and suddenly I'm in the mood for
a Coke zero Sugar Real Coke Taste zero sugar. No,
that's a winning combo, Yeah, Chris, refreshing that hits the

(11:48):
spot when it comes to great taste. Coke zero sugar
is always on the scoreboard. Coke zero Sugar Real Coke
Taste zero Sugar.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
Toyota Thon is on.

Speaker 7 (11:59):
Get in the spirit of the season with a new
Toyota now through January fifth, get three thousand dollars customer
cash on remaining new twenty five ton dress or get
zero point nine to nine APR financing plus one thousand
dollars TFS APR cash with approved credit through TFS excludes
TRD pro APR cash must be applied to deal and

(12:19):
every new Toyota comes with two years no cost maintenance.
For complete details, go to Toyota dot com. Toyota Let's go.

Speaker 13 (12:26):
Places thinking about digging, planning a tree, putting up a fence,
hold that shovel before you break ground, Head to Kentucky
eight one one dot org or call.

Speaker 2 (12:34):
Eight one one.

Speaker 13 (12:35):
It's quick, it's free, and yep, it's the law. Submit
your request online or call before you dig. Member utility
pros will mark where the underground lines are. Don't risk
the injury, service outages, penalties, or costly repairs.

Speaker 1 (12:47):
Safety is in your hands. Eight one one Before You.

Speaker 14 (12:50):
Dig, Sponsored by the Kentucky Public Service Commission.

Speaker 15 (12:53):
Flight by Yingling It's the next generation of light beer
for those who don't follow trends but craft them. Flight
by Yingling is twelve ounces of uncompromised refreshment from America's
oldest brewery, with only two point six grams of carbs
and ninety five calories. This is premium refreshment, six generations
in the making. They'll just raise the glass, Raise the bar.

(13:16):
Flight by Yanling available wherever beer is sold, DJ Yngling
and so unincorporated Potsviell Pennsylvania.

Speaker 2 (13:22):
Please enjoy responsible, unlocked exclusive coverage of UK Athletics with
UKSN all Access. From behind the scenes content to game
day coverage. It's all in one place. Find it on
the UK Athletics app or uksnallaccess dot com.

Speaker 3 (13:50):
She joined us for Countdown to tip Off presented by
Jack Burford Chevrolet coverage for the Cats and North Carolina Central.
The Eagles will begin at five thirty Eastern Time tomorrow
and game time should be right around seven pm. It's
televised on the SEC Network. We'll have all of the
coverage on the UK Radio Network. If you have a
question for Coach Pope, you can send it in on

(14:12):
x at UK Sports Network or via the Clark's Pumping
Shop text line eight five nine two oh three one
two three four Do you first let me ask you
any health updates to share that going through specific guys,
all these things really interesting.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
Moe continues to make a little bit of progress on
this this high ankle spain. We'll see how you know,
he's kind of day to day. JQ is continuing to
make progress, but he's still ways away from actually in
game live action, but he's making tremendous progress. Uh So,
so you know, those guys are doing pretty well. J
Low continues to kind of just see limited improvement in

(14:51):
how he's doing, but the guys, for the most part,
are doing well.

Speaker 3 (14:54):
I thought we're in a rough night again. A handful
of possessions where Jalen he had break down the defense,
make a kickout, get you a good shot, and then
contested shot. They didn't alway knock him down, but that
was something that certainly could be built on.

Speaker 2 (15:09):
Hey, listen, Jalo has an incredible talent. You know, he's
got a ton of get by. He's the guy that
doesn't need a bunch of actions for him to be
able to get down. He'll get in the paint. He's
got terrific vision. He's a he's a laser pass guy,
on time, on target guy. You know if as he
we just haven't had him on the floor, we haven't
had it on the practice floor. So uh, you know,

(15:31):
he has a chance to have a really really really
massive positive impact on this team, and the more kind
of the more reps we can get, the more minutes
in game and in practice. Frankly, uh, I think he
has a chance to, like I said, to have a
big impact on our progress last one.

Speaker 3 (15:46):
And then we'll get to some fan questions that he
line up changes or rotation changes that you consider.

Speaker 2 (15:51):
Yeah, we're we're we're actually, you know, as we as
we kind of prepared to maybe filter JQ into this
line up, we're gonna shift. We're kind of going to
make a little bit of a shift over the next
several weeks if it works. You know, we're in a
search mode. We haven't found a lot that's worked really well.
We're not getting production in some spaces where we really

(16:13):
need something. And it's not because it's you know, it's
it's one of the things that you're always considering as
a coach is sometimes you're just not getting production because
you haven't got it yet. But then you wonder how
long you're gonna have to wait to actually get production
to start showing up. And so you don't want to
bail too early, but you can't hang on too late.
And and so we're we're we're making some shifts right
now to try and explore some some different things and

(16:36):
trying to prepare for for guys that are getting healthy.

Speaker 3 (16:39):
Question from Chris coming in on the Clarks, by the way,
that's really vague, wasn't it. Well, I'm sure you if
you had all the answers I got answers.

Speaker 2 (16:48):
We're not ready to evulgemll right now. We'll see, So
we'll see. I get that.

Speaker 3 (16:53):
In the matchups, this is from Chris, and the matchups
against ranked opponents, the margin for air is obviously much
slimmer beyond the score or what have these significant, high
intensity games revealed to you and your staff about this
group's collective emotional maturity and the ability to stop runs
when an elite opponent gets momentum.

Speaker 2 (17:11):
Well, it's listen. The wonderful thing about basketball is there's
not judges. You have a score, and so you don't
you're not left to wonder and and you know, the
the North Carolina game accepted where you know, it's just
kind of a one possession deal and we just we

(17:32):
just didn't we executed poorly, uh in the last ten
or so possessions. But with that accept accepted, you know,
in the other three games, we just have not performed
at the level that we need to perform. We haven't
had the togetherness, we haven't had the resilience, we haven't
had the sticktuitiveness, we haven't had the uh, the commitment,
we've been distractable. And so those those are that's that's

(17:53):
what you see. But the what's really interesting is the
why part of it. And and there's there's one hundred
different reasons why, and we're trying to address those one
by one by one as we go.

Speaker 6 (18:05):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (18:06):
But but the score tells you everything you need to
know and and then it's just figuring out how to
how to get to a different outcome.

Speaker 3 (18:12):
Another one in talking taking you back to your playing
days as a captain for the ninety six team that
won the national title.

Speaker 16 (18:19):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (18:19):
Question that came in earlier today, Even if you don't
have any naturally vocal guys, do you need to draft
one of them to make sure everybody's head's in the
game and where it needs to be.

Speaker 2 (18:31):
As a coach, you're always trying to grow leaders. And
so this is this is the painful part that's not
gonna sit well with with BBN Right now, we actually
have guys that are growing, you know, Denzel Aberdeen, uh is,
and sometimes it's two steps backward and one forward to
make progress. It's just the way that growth is, you know.

(18:54):
It's it's it's interesting. We live in a world right
now appropriately so, and this is can touch and this
is way it should be where we just run around
with fixed mindset life, which is just like you are
what you are right now, and that's what you're always
going to be. And that's what it is that I
don't spend any time living in that space, and so

(19:15):
I am seeing really meaningful progress in some of our guys.
I'm seeing meaningful progress in Otega. He had his best
practice he's ever had for me ever on Saturday, in
terms of his commitment and willingness to buy into the
minutia of the game and have the details really matter.

(19:36):
Denzel Aberdeen has not been in a position where he's
been asked to lead before, but he's it's that whole
weight has been thrust upon him, and he's not been
happy with the way he's played necessarily, but he's become
more and more vocal. It's actually, you know, I've had
some of my best days with him in the last
ten days in terms of his willingness to stand up
and hold guys accountable and open up his mouth. And

(19:59):
that's a hard to do. That's actually hard, especially when
things are going bad and especially when you're not playing
very well. So I'm seeing progress there. Colin Chandler continues
to emerge in his growth pattern as a solid, everyday,
dependable leader on this team. And so yes, I have

(20:20):
to take more of the onus of leadership on this team,
for sure. I got to do a better job growing
our guys, and our guys are making progress. This is
what I know. This is going to be a really
good team. We're not now, but we're gonna be a
really good team. And I have so much faith in
these guys, even though it is not showing itself on
the floor, and so we are not we are not

(20:45):
even close to what we're going to be by the
end of this season. It's super painful right now, but
I'm excited about the progress that these guys are showing
us and we just have to we got to fight
to keep going in that.

Speaker 3 (20:54):
Direction before the next break. One quick one you've mentioned
away and no take a heavy his best practice you've
had for you on Saturday set motivated from the night before,
or getting fully healthy, or.

Speaker 2 (21:07):
For sure, it's it's all the things.

Speaker 6 (21:09):
You know.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
It's never sat out. I mean, listen, this is just
the facts. Like he's never sat out. He had I
don't think he'd ever missed a day of practice in
his life. And he missed a summer and a fall
in a weird space and time where for the first
time in his life, he was coming in, walking in
as the presumptive best player and and that's a new thing.

(21:29):
And so and also, you know, he's carrying such a
load right now that the details for him matter more
than they have ever mattered before. And so it's you know,
that's just a it's a it's a learning process to
make the tiny little things the most important little things.
And it's something that we all have to learn. And
he's learning right now. I'm proud of him. He's you know,

(21:51):
this is not an easy haul for him, but he's
he's in it, and he is and he's fighting and
he's growing. He's willing to grow as a bunch of
our guys are in. I said, it's not showing in
the outcome right now. The outcome is not even in
the universe of acceptable. But we're seeing growth and it's
giving me huge confidence that this team can actually can

(22:11):
actually really accomplish some things this season.

Speaker 3 (22:13):
Kentucky North Carolina Central Tomorrow presented by UK Healthcare, the
official healthcare partner of UK Athletics and the presenting sponsor
of The Mark Pope Show. And we'll be right back
talk to Kevin Greedy when we return on the UK
Sports Network.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
Skyline's New Chicken Chili is here.

Speaker 17 (22:30):
Now you can enjoy that legendary Skyline taste with a
new protein option. Come try Skylines New Chicken Chili on Ways,
Coney's and all your Skyline favorites, including Chicken Chili Chilros.
When you taste it, you're gonna love it. So come
try Skylines New Chicken Chili today. It's a tasty new
way to enjoy your Skyline time. Now available a participat

(22:53):
in Skyline Restaurants.

Speaker 18 (22:56):
Trent Noah UK Men's Basketball player here. I needed a
bank that would work with my busines schedule, which is
why I chose Fort Bank. They offer instant issue debit
cards when you open an account in a branch or.
You can open one online at Fortbank dot com. I
can easily manage my account through their app. Plus if
I need to speak to a tailor, They're available from
seven am to seven pm Monday through Saturday with on

(23:17):
demand banking. Fort Bank stays on top of their game,
so I can stay on top of mind.

Speaker 11 (23:21):
Message in dat rates may apply account opening subject to
approval fort Bank.

Speaker 3 (23:23):
Remember ifeic hey.

Speaker 18 (23:24):
This is trndoah and I bank with fort Bank.

Speaker 14 (23:27):
The Manchester is Lexington's award winning upscale boutique hotel.

Speaker 1 (23:30):
Located in the historic Distillery district.

Speaker 14 (23:32):
The Manchester features one hundred and twenty four guest rooms
with four expansive suites, a spirited lobby bar, and two
elevated dining spaces. Grand Am, the hotel's flagship restaurant, offers
locally sourced bluegrass inspired dishes. Floss Palm is our rooftop
restaurant in bar a tropical oasis offering Latin inspired share
plates and the Tiki cocktail program with the best views
of downtown Lexington. For reservations, visit the Manchester ky dot com.

Speaker 7 (23:57):
Toyota thone is on get in the spirit of the
season with a new Toyota now through January fifth. Get
four point seventy five APR financing on remaining new twenty
five Corollas and Corolla hybrids excludes gr and Corolla Cross
or lease a gas powered twenty six Corolla l E
for one ninety nine a month for thirty nine months
with thirty six ninety nine. Do it signing with the

(24:17):
proof credit through TFS Tax Title and License Extra. Call
one eight eight eight thirty six Toyota Fruit details or
go to Toyota dot com Toyota Let's Go Places.

Speaker 3 (24:38):
Make sure you subscribe to the UK to the Pine
Kentucky Basketball podcast presented by UK Federal Credit Union. It
is available for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, the
official UK Athletics app. And we want to welcome in
a Kentucky Wildcat Athletics Hall of Famer, a UK legend,
one of the top scores at Kentucky basketball history, Kevin Greevy, Keaven,

(25:00):
How you doing.

Speaker 16 (25:02):
Oh, I'm doing great. Thanks Tom, great to talk to
you and to Mark, I appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (25:07):
Well, we're thrilled that you've joined us. And I want
to just set the table a little bit and then
we'll bring Coach Pope in because with the Indiana and
he's obviously got to somewhat stay focused on the next game.
But this week Indiana comes back onto the schedule in
a home and home and it will be in rap
Arena on Saturday. And you played in that series and

(25:27):
most famously and maybe the game that means the most
to Kentucky fans outside of an NCAA Championship game win,
and that was the one up in Dayton, Ohio in
nineteen seventy five, ninety two ninety over the Hoosiers to
go to the Final Four after having lost to that
same team right about this time in December of twenty

(25:48):
or of nineteen seventy four by twenty four points. And
there was a little dust up after that game involving
the guy that helps send Mark Pope to Kentucky years later.
And so Coach popol Tee that up for you to
talk with. Kevin.

Speaker 2 (26:03):
Kevin, first of all, thanks for jumping on and I
am so excited to talk to you.

Speaker 3 (26:06):
Man.

Speaker 2 (26:07):
You you were like center stage for some of the great,
the like forever incredible moments in Kentucky history. Man, I
paved the way for all of So thank you for
your amazing work. Brother. It's awesome can you take us back?
Can you take us back to the to the December

(26:28):
disaster and then the the Elite eight game and just
give us And then I got some follow up questions
because I want to see how directly I can get
you to quote some of the things that that Coach
Night and Joe Be said about each other. But will
you kind of give us an overview this because this
history is it is as good as it gets. It's
what makes Kentucky special.

Speaker 16 (26:49):
Yes, it is. Well, you know, we're talking fifty years ago,
and you would think my memories would be a little foggy.

Speaker 3 (26:57):
But they're not.

Speaker 16 (26:59):
They're they're pretty still, very bright and shining. Thinking about
that battle that we had with Indiana. Actually it goes back.
You know when I was a freshman playing and practicing
with Coach Rupt. One of the early games was at

(27:20):
Freedom Hall. My freshmen were ineligible Mark and as you know,
and I watched Steve Downing drop about forty point dunk
Kentucky and it was a bitter, bitter loss, and I
was like, man, that's never gonna happen to us now,
you know, we were all freshmen sitting under the basket.

(27:40):
Jimmy Dan Connor Flynn, myself, guy at Hal, a lot
more all of us and rooting for Kentucky to win
that game.

Speaker 3 (27:48):
And you know, that was fresh.

Speaker 16 (27:51):
We knew how good Indiana was getting with Bob Bobby Knight,
and he was assembling Mark. I mean, it was like
a pro team. They were unbelievable. They were really really good.
And we lost to him. My sophomlaw Yer lost to him,
you know, my junior year and lost to him in

(28:12):
that game you're referring to in December and Bloomington, and
you know, there's karma. Bobby Knight was a great coach.
There was no question about it. I mean, history will
tell you one of the greatest college coaches ever. He
was from Army. He was a tough guy. You could
see him on the sidelines, how he was demanding and

(28:34):
pushing those guys. And back then, you know, you could
put your hand on a player. You could see him
in puddles, you know, pointing this, you know, into their
chest and WHOA, I would never want to play for
this dude. And sure enough, Karma got his ass in
that game. We were getting we were getting our butts kipped,

(28:55):
and coach all took all the starters out, put him
next to the bench, and I'm next to him, and
I'm I'm I'm sitting right next to Coach Hall. And
there was a couple of minutes left in the game
and they're up in the twenties. And he looked over
at Bobby Knight said, Bobby, I got all my starters out.

Speaker 3 (29:14):
How bad you want this?

Speaker 16 (29:16):
You know, he had kept Aunt Benson and Scott May
and Abernathy and Buttner and these guys were just having
so much fun beating our ass And Bobby Knight looked
at him, said, Joe, you coach your team and I'll
coach mine. And with that, Coach Hall stood up, walked over.

(29:36):
They met. I couldn't tell what was being said, and
the game is still going on, and then, uh, Bobby Knight,
coach turned and Bobby Knight flat Coach Hall in the
back of the head. Glasses go flying, and you know
Len Nass was our assistant coach, and Dicky Parsons they

(29:57):
run up, and Jimmy Dan and I run up and
we get coach hauled back to the bench, and uh,
of course the story after the game wasn't the humiliating
loss that we sustained. By twenty four points. It was
what happened there at center court when Joe b got
slapped and closes, yes.

Speaker 3 (30:20):
Go ahead, go ahead, finish the story. I'm sorry.

Speaker 16 (30:23):
The last thing he said to us before we left
that locker room he said, look, guys, we got humiliated.
I was humiliated, but we're going to take the high road.
And some tells me we're going to see these guys again,
and that sort of set the stage for the tournament game.
We knew if we were going to be the team

(30:44):
that we thought we could be to win a championship,
we were going to have to beat Indiana.

Speaker 3 (30:49):
Kevin, I got got to get a quick break in here.
We'll do that and come back with one more segment
with you and get the coach to get into a
little bit more about some of those stories he wants
to hear about Wildcat fans. You can big savings at
Kroger with Kroger Fuel Reward Points. Every purchase inside the
store earns you fuel points for up to one dollar
off per gallon at the pup Kroger Fresh for everyone.

(31:10):
Right back on the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 19 (31:12):
Hey Deglutination, looking to get closer to the teams coaches
and student athletes you love. It's time to go all
in with BBN United, the ultimate way to support Kentucky's
student athletes and show off your pride. With a BBN
United membership, you'll be invited to watch exclusive player and
coach content, access one of a kind ban experiences, get
UK fam merchant delivered to your door, and be part
of something bigger than the game. Sign up for BBN

(31:35):
United at bbnunited dot com. UK Athletics Official fan Loyalty
Program where passion fuel's purpose.

Speaker 20 (31:45):
Yimling Traditional Lagger a beard that, like true legends, stands
the test of time. Brewed by the same family for
nearly two hundred years, It's a crisp amber lagger with
a bold, smooth flavor that's perfect for game day, whether
you're cheering from the stand watching from your favorite bar,
Yengland is the taste of tradition. Yengland Legends stand the

(32:06):
test of time.

Speaker 21 (32:09):
You need open heart surgery. Words no one wants to hear,
but when it becomes your reality, you deserve care built
on trust. At hazard RH open heart surgery is performed
by doctor James Shoptak, a cardiothoracic and vascular surgeon with
over twenty nine years of experience with skilled hands, strong
face and proven results. Doctor Shoptah and his team are

(32:30):
with you every step of the way. Trust your heart
to AARH and doctor Shoptak a proud member of the
AARH Care Network. AARH more for Appalachia those.

Speaker 3 (32:39):
Paceline tits or not.

Speaker 22 (32:42):
UK Athletics would like to thank our official cornerstone partners,
Central Bank, the official bank of UK Athletics, Kentucky Farm
Bureau Insurance, Big On Commitment and UK Healthcare, official healthcare
partner of Big Blue Nations Kentucky Colo Take.

Speaker 1 (32:58):
The Learning Track Walk in Kentucky, go some seventy two.

Speaker 22 (33:03):
Once again, thank you to our official cornerstone partners who
play a vital role in the success of the University
of Kentucky Athletics program.

Speaker 13 (33:10):
Thinking about digging, planning a tree, putting up a fence,
hold that shovel before you break ground, head to Kentucky
eight one one dot org or call eight one one.

Speaker 1 (33:18):
It's quick, it's free, and yep, it's the law.

Speaker 13 (33:21):
Submit your request online or call Before you dig, member
utility pros.

Speaker 1 (33:25):
Will mark where the underground lines are.

Speaker 13 (33:27):
Don't risk the injury, service, outages, penalties or costly repairs.

Speaker 1 (33:31):
Safety is in your hands. Eight one one before you.

Speaker 14 (33:33):
Dig, Sponsored by the Kentucky Public Service Commission.

Speaker 12 (33:37):
Oh right, all right, it's a beautiful day for football
here at the stadium and we're just about ready for kickoff.
Score zero zero and suddenly I'm in the mood for
a Coke zero sugar Real Coke Taste zero Sugar. No,
that's a winning combo. Yeah, Chris, refreshing that hits the spot.

Speaker 6 (34:00):
To great taste.

Speaker 12 (34:00):
Coke zero sugar is always on the scoreboard. Coke zero Sugar,
Real Coke Taste zero Sugar.

Speaker 3 (34:17):
All right, We're back on the Mark Pope Show, presented
by UK Healthcare, and when we're finished up, stay tuned
for Clark's Pumping Shop BB and Radio Darren Hedrick. Tonight,
we'll be joined by coach Kenny Brooks and members of
his team, Tony Morgan, Clara Strack, Amelia Hassett. They'll all
be there. A lot of UK women's basketball talk coming up.
At the top of the hour. We'll get back to

(34:37):
your questions for Coach Pope here and just a bit
one more segment here with a UK basketball legend Kevin Greevy.
If you want to get questions in, you can text
them on the Clark's Pumping Shop text line or post
them on x. Before we get back to Kevin real quick.
You told the audience here on site about an article
they need to google you. We're not gonna tell them
anymore about what's in some of the quotes in the article.

(34:57):
But so if you get a chance.

Speaker 2 (35:00):
Kyle Tucker wrote an unbelievable article about this. It was
March twenty second, twenty twenty. It was kind of when
when Coach Knight passed away. And I can't quote most
of it because I think we would get shut down, right,
but it just is it just is like this great.

(35:21):
It's exactly what Kevin is talking to us about, but
just in more like Bobby Knight type language. But it
is just awesome. So if you get a chance look
it up. You'll enjoy it, all.

Speaker 3 (35:33):
Right, Kevin Greevy with us Back to Mark Pope in
the interview. Kevin so so.

Speaker 2 (35:39):
Coach Nance was my coach at the University of Washington
my first couple of years of college basketball. I love him.
I'm still very close with him, and of course you
know his history is being an FBI narcotics officer before
he got back into coaching. And can you so in
this article, in this particular article, it's is that after

(36:02):
Bobby slapped uh coach in the back of the head,
Coach Nance came running. Adham was being held back by
other sissors and he said he yet he yelled, hey,
try that stuff with me, pal uh and and coach
was Coach was trying.

Speaker 3 (36:21):
To kill him all by himself. Do you remember it
that way?

Speaker 14 (36:24):
Oh?

Speaker 16 (36:24):
Yes, I do. Well, you know, we we knew how
tough len Nance was. We heard all the stories read
about him ball him in action. You know, man, you
never wanted to cross len Nance. And uh it's a
shame that Coach Hall or somebody stopped him because that uh,
he would have tore Bobby Knight into a hundred pieces. Uh,

(36:46):
there's no question about it. But you know, we got
to go ahead and finish that game. And uh so
it could have gotten ugly, but it didn't.

Speaker 2 (36:54):
And let me let me let me run by you
before we move on to the great ending of this story.
So this article actually cites the great Jack Gibbons as
soft spoken as Jack as he said, it's the only
time in my career that I came close to being
in a brawl, says former Waldcast star Jack Give is true.

Speaker 16 (37:19):
Yeah, it's true. I mean, we did not like these guys.
We didn't like anything about Indiana. There's this a rivalry
we have been built up for years and now we're
getting our butt kicked in Bloomington. We didn't want to
go away like little pussycats. So you know, we we
wanted a piece of them. But it's you know, we

(37:41):
just got him back, I mean, and it was great
that it it ended the way it did. I mean,
my career at Kentucky wouldn't have been as fulfilled if
we hadn't done that.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
So so let me let me set this up because
we already know the story, but I want to hear
your words. So you lose it game by twenty four.
It's humiliating. Coach Hall talks about being humiliated. You guys
are just a mess. I'm sure that BBN was not
totally happy with this situation. You come back, get back
to work, and that actually wasn't who you guys ended

(38:16):
up being by the end of the season. So go ahead,
fast forward to this Elite eight game.

Speaker 16 (38:22):
Well, you know, we had a gauntlet off out of
conference play. We had to beat Kansas Notre Dame North
Carolina to get ourselves back on track. And so by
the time the new year starts and we start SEC play,
we righted the ship. We're eight and one and we're
feeling good now about our South, always knowing that our

(38:46):
ultimate goal was to win a championship. And so, you know,
we had a great run in the SCC. I think
we finished like fifteen and three. We go into the
tournament one of the fifth sixth best records in in
college basketball. I think we were a fifth seed back then, Mark,
you know, they didn't seed. So our first game in

(39:07):
the NCAA tournament was against Marquette. Wow and al mcguarre
had a hell of a team and they were ranked
higher than us. And that's our first game. Ben in
TUSCA loose Alabama. We beat them. Now the sites are
on the region and Indiana's in our bracket and we
beat a pretty good Central Michigan team. I had three

(39:30):
pros on that team, and we beat them handily. And
then we go in and watch Indiana play. I think
it was Oregon State and Coach Hall as we were
putting our jackets on. He said, let's root for Indiana, guys,
let's root for Indiana. We won. I mean, he is
like really setting the stage for us. Sure enough, you know,

(39:53):
hell with the upset in Dayton, Let's play these guys
and they blew out Oregon State. And then coach he
had a great game plan. Mark had shoot around the
next day, there's Kirk Couty and Jerry Lucas the broadcaster,
sitting in the sand. He told him to get out.

(40:14):
He said, you've got to get out of the building.
I said, we got fastest coach, We're allowed to be here.
We're brought. He said, no, Jerry, you were a teammate
of Bobby's night. I know what side you're on. Get out.
We got a game plan to go over. And he
put us out on the court and he said, this
is going to be the most physical game your kids
ever played in, and we're gonna pancake every time one

(40:35):
of those moving screens come. And so boy, he's like, hey,
we got we got big that can match up with Indiana.

Speaker 3 (40:43):
We got depth.

Speaker 16 (40:44):
They're not going to call every foule. We're going to
not go under a pick or over a pick. We're
going to go through the pick, and that's how we're
going to set the stage for the game. And sure enough,
the stip goes up, we get the ball, we score,
They come down and they run all these moving screens
at us, and Bob Guyette put his shoulder into Steve

(41:05):
Green and eat him down. Of course it called a foul,
but that's how we were going to go through those screens.
And he also said at halftime, he said, okay, but
I think it was tied at halftime, and he said,
we're right there now, guys, we are going to have
the Damnas party after this game. We're going to cut

(41:27):
down the nets. I don't want anybody get hurt cutting
down the nets. We're going to use scissors, and then
we're going to have a police escort back to the
Memorial Coliseum and we're like, God, this is a good coach.
And then we're going to have the Damna celebration of
Memorial Coliseum has ever seen. And when we go up

(41:50):
or down I seventy five South, every viaduct is going
to have Kentucky fans rooting us back to Lexing and Kentucky.
So let's go out take care of business. We are
going to have the greatest celebration. I mean, it was
all about putting in our minds the win. We're going
to do this. There wasn't any strategy talk. We had

(42:12):
already covered that and I couldn't wait to take the
court in the second half. And it was a battle.
I mean, Kent Benson must have had one of the
best games of players ever had in the NCAA tournament.
He had thirty two points and twenty some rebounds. But
it was also Coach Hall freed up our guards Jimmy

(42:34):
Dan and Mike Flynn and let those guys just play
loose and free, and they were scoring on their guards.
So we had a big team with Roby and Phillips
in the middle and Jack on one wing. I'm on
the other, and we just played about as good as
you could play against an undefeated team. And that right

(42:57):
back to Lexington, is one I'll never forget.

Speaker 3 (43:00):
Kevin. We are unfortunately out of time. We could rehear
these stories the fur the rest of the night, but
hopefully we'll see it up sometime this season.

Speaker 16 (43:11):
Oh, you definitely will. I'll be there a few times.

Speaker 3 (43:13):
Good love and thanks for jumping on man.

Speaker 2 (43:15):
You're awesome. Thank you brother.

Speaker 3 (43:17):
And for our Alumni Hall Fan question of the week,
what do you like most about the Kentucky Indiana series?
Coming Back and being Home and Home? Visit Alumni Hall.
Visit at Alumni Hall UK on X and respond with
your answer for a chance to win a gift card
from Alumni Hall. This is the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 6 (43:35):
Hey, there's a penny by.

Speaker 12 (43:35):
Your foot a penny, find a penny, pick it up,
then o'dale'll have good luck.

Speaker 1 (43:38):
Come on, let's aim higher for the nickel. But how
often do you find free nickels every day at Thornton's.

Speaker 19 (43:44):
Save five cents off for gallon of fuel every day
with Thornton's Refreshing Rewards.

Speaker 1 (43:47):
Then we need a new adage.

Speaker 6 (43:48):
Come to Thornton's.

Speaker 1 (43:49):
Pump your gas, save some nickels with every pass, dell
add up to save a buck. How does that sound
for a little luck that is way better than pennies.

Speaker 8 (43:56):
Get five cents off for gallon of fuel every day
at your local Thornton's. Valid on fuel purchases up to
thirty five gallons requires download off the Refreshing Rewards app
and successful registration The.

Speaker 10 (44:04):
Mood DQ Crispy Onion Cheeseburger seven dollar meal deal has
everything you could want and more. First, there's the juicy
cheeseburger that comes with melty cheese and crunchy crispy onions.
Oh and a full size order of fries and a
drink and a Sunday And did we mention that it's
all just seven bucks At participating DQ locations, enjoy every

(44:26):
and with the new Crispy Onion Cheeseburger seven dollar meal
deal here for a limited time right now at DQ.

Speaker 6 (44:33):
Happy Tastes Good.

Speaker 5 (44:35):
This holiday season, you may hear sleigh bells jingling, ring,
ting tingling too, But if you're even a little buzzed,
one thing that shouldn't be jingling is your car keys,
unless you're handing them to a sober friend. I'll take
those And outside, the snow may be falling in. Friends
may be calling you, but if you're impaired, you should

(44:56):
call a cab or ride share service. Yes I've sober,
or get pulled over. A message from the Kentucky Office
of Highway Safety.

Speaker 7 (45:04):
Toyota Thona is on and there's no better way to
get in the spirit of the season than with a
new Toyota like the best selling Toyota Camry now through
January fifth, get four point seventy five APR financing on
remaining new twenty five cameras or LEAs a new twenty
six Camri l E for two sixty nine a month
for thirty nine months with thirty six ninety nine Do
it signing with the proof credit through TFS Tax, Title

(45:27):
and License Extra. Call one eight eight eight thirty six
Toyota for details or go to Toyota dot com Toyota
Let's go places.

Speaker 3 (45:36):
Watch BBA Tonight, presented by UK Healthcare each weeknight at
seven thirty on Wlax and Lexington. You can also watch
archive shows at bbntnight dot com. This is the Mark
Pope Show, presented by UK Healthcare. Let's get back to

(45:57):
more of your questions. This one comes in on X
from Craig uh says ask coach about He says, you're
a nice, positive guy. Have you ever lost your temper
on the sidelines and received a t yes.

Speaker 2 (46:13):
More times than I can remember?

Speaker 9 (46:14):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (46:14):
Really? Yeah, So there's uh, there's the uh, the you
can be pushed to a point.

Speaker 2 (46:21):
Well, it's it's so the answer is yes and and
I think on the sidelines it's really important that you
kind of manage a lot of things, but mostly you're
trying to kind of read your guys and figure out
what energy they need in the moment. And and that's

(46:42):
a little bit artistic, and you don't get it right
all the time. You know, there's times where your guys
are reeling and they're kind of full of doubt and
they need to like they need reassurance and belief that
like keep pressing forward, this is gonna work.

Speaker 5 (47:00):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (47:00):
There's also times when they need to be they need
to be, they need to be, Uh, you need to
jar them out of their own headspace. I think we've
talked about this before, but you know, uh, sometimes with
a with a child that is kind of lost ruminating
their own headspace, uh, you know, uh just crying or

(47:24):
or you know, inconsolable. You know, taking their hand and
dipping it in like ice water can actually just snap
them out and bring them back to present. So trying
to figure out what your guys need in the moment
is way more important than it than reacting to you know,
reacting like a fan dos to what's happening on the court.
Sometimes reacting that way can be super helpful for your guys,

(47:46):
sometimes it's not and and uh so that's a that's
a that's something that we spend a lot of time
talking about and thinking about, and we need to do
better with that because our our you know, we've been
all over the map energy wise for sure.

Speaker 3 (47:58):
Well that fan part of you that we all have
in ton of I had to want to kick a
table or a chair or something at some point Friday night.

Speaker 2 (48:03):
There's been a lot of a lot of desire to
kick and pound, to do things like that. And and
you know, I probably missed some opportunities where that would
have been the right thing.

Speaker 3 (48:12):
Actually, here's a question.

Speaker 2 (48:13):
But I want it to be the right thing because
it's the right thing, not the right thing because I'm
indulging in my own frustration. That's that there's a huge difference.

Speaker 3 (48:20):
It helps your yes question. I don't have a name here,
but it's a question about guys line work.

Speaker 2 (48:27):
If Leanne had her choice, she would have been throwing
a lot of chairs and breaking a lot of tables.
That's why we keep her away from the tables.

Speaker 3 (48:36):
And the officials.

Speaker 18 (48:36):
Maybe.

Speaker 2 (48:38):
Yep, you know it's interesting. I'll tell you this too.
I can so Leanne's lost in the light tack and
barely here. I can't tell if she smiling or not.

Speaker 3 (48:46):
She's smiling.

Speaker 2 (48:47):
Man, you talk about getting uh, getting a lot of
truth when I go home to the to the table
after a game or the next whever we get to
see each other, Leanne and the girls, that's where the
truth says. And man, who you think BBN could be
tough lead of the Pope. Girls could be tough.

Speaker 6 (49:05):
Man.

Speaker 2 (49:05):
They say they hold they don't not hold back. So
it's awesome.

Speaker 3 (49:09):
Question about guys working on their own maybe early morning.
Sometimes you hear stories about guys will get up on
their own early and they'll recruit other teammates to join them.
Any of that that's going on now or has gone
on for this team.

Speaker 2 (49:20):
Yeah, and so this is you know, one of the
things that that's important for probably BBN to know that
I need to be more vocal about this. I'm actually
trying to get my guys off the court. I got
guys that are going to you know, Otake is a
great example. Otake is getting in three workouts the day
right now, he's coming in again at eleven o'clock. Where

(49:41):
I've kind of tried to start banishing from the gym
because he just is wearing himself out a little bit
right now with with Actually, these guys want so badly
to do this. They're feeling all of the heat that
you should feel wearing Kentucky jersey, and they're putting in
so much much time. It's almost like it's almost like, no,

(50:01):
we're reserving your work for this practice time, for this
film time, for these meeting times, and maybe just one
extra shooting session, and then you're not allowed to be
back on the court because it's not serving you.

Speaker 7 (50:11):
Well.

Speaker 2 (50:12):
I'll never forget my you know, I went through this
as a as a player at the University of Washington.
After my freshman season at Washington and and coach Nancy
challenged me with a bunch of stuff, and so I
was going through this insanity of a of a of
a daily workout grind. It was it was beyond pale.

(50:33):
I could I could take you through each step every
single day. And you know, about six weeks into this
three month training session, like my body was just breaking down,
where I was just getting worse and worse and worse,
and it was actually it had pushed it past the
point of being productive. And that's one of the things
with some of our guys. They're actually doing so much extra,

(50:55):
trying so hard to like live up to where we're
supposed to be, that I got to dial them back
so they can have their energy and freshness focus on
what's most important.

Speaker 3 (51:05):
Celebrate the holidays. Head Malones, dine in for lunch or dinner,
carry out for a special gathering at home, host private
event for family and friends. Contact Malones to begin putting
the plan together. It's the Mark Pope Show, presented by
UK Healthcare on the UK Sports Network.

Speaker 2 (51:19):
What does it take to win?

Speaker 3 (51:22):
Having the right team? I'm great managing partner from Becker Law,
and we are the team you need when you or
a loved one are wrongly injured. Call us now at
three three three three three three three from anywhere in Kentucky,
or go to Beckerlaw dot com. You pay us nothing
unless you get paid and fine justice Becker Law serving

(51:45):
Lexington for forty years. Go cats.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
Oh right, all right.

Speaker 12 (51:50):
It's a beautiful day for football here at the stadium
and we're just about ready for kickoff score zero zero
and suddenly I'm in the mood for a coke zero
sugar real coke taste zero sugar. No, that's a winning combo. Yeah,
Chris refreshing that hits the spot. When it comes to

(52:12):
great taste, Coke zero sugar is always on the scoreboard.
Coke zero sugar real coke taste zero sugar.

Speaker 23 (52:19):
Dear you, you've hung the lights, checked off every to
do list. Now treat yourself to a fun break with
holiday scratch offs from the Kentucky Lottery. Play festively fantastic
games like Twinkle Cash, Marry Multiplier, and no much Fun,
no wrapping, no thank you not, it's take the break
you actually wanted.

Speaker 3 (52:39):
Grab your tickets today your local Kboy Lottery retailer and
put a little play in your day this holiday season.
Please play responsibly. Remember it's just a game.

Speaker 7 (52:49):
Toyota Phone is on and there's no better way to
get in the spirit of the season than with a
new Toyota. Now through January fifth, get four point seventy
five APR financing on any remaining new twenty five I've
Ram four or RAM four Hybrid, or lease a new
gas powered RAM four l EE for two seventy nine
a month for thirty nine months with thirty nine ninety
nine do its signing with approved credit through TFS, text

(53:11):
title and license extra call one eight eight eight thirty
six Toyota Fru details or go to Toyota dot com
Toyota Let's go places.

Speaker 11 (53:19):
Hey Wildcat Fans. Little Caesars, the home of Hot and
Ready Pizza, invites you to try our world famous Crazy
Bread with Crazy Sauce, Caesar Wings, Italian Cheese bread, and
our new cookie Old Browning dessert. At Little Caesar's, we
begin each day with dough made fresh from scratch, fresh
never frozen cheese and the tasty is topping.

Speaker 1 (53:40):
Little Caesars is also a proud partner of.

Speaker 11 (53:43):
UK Athletics and an enthusiastic member of Big Blue Nation.

Speaker 1 (53:46):
So Go Cat Pizza Pizza.

Speaker 15 (53:49):
Flight by Yangling. It's the next generation of light beer
for those who don't follow trends but craft them. Flight
by Yangling is twelve ounces of uncompromised refreshment from America's
oldest brewery with only two point six grams of carbs
and ninety five calories. This is premium refreshment six generations
in the making. They'll just raise the glass, raise the bar.

(54:12):
Flight by Yngland available wherever beer is sold, DJ Yngling
and so unincorporated Potsviell, Pennsylvania.

Speaker 2 (54:17):
Please enjoy responsibly.

Speaker 3 (54:30):
Four complete coverage of the Cats. Like UK Sports Network
on Facebook, follow on Instagram at UK Underscore Sports Network,
or on x at UK Sports Network. Back to a
question for our final segment here with Coach Pope.

Speaker 2 (54:43):
This one.

Speaker 3 (54:43):
I don't have a name on this one, but at
what point does your attitude need to change or your
approach need to change? Because encouraging and being positive with
this particular team has it worked as well. I don't
know if you agree with that or not, but that's
what the he asks.

Speaker 2 (54:59):
Well, clearly my approach needs to change, you know. I
think it's probably more, you know, it's it's multi faceted.
I'm not sure my guys would say that. I'm always positive.
I think the guys would disagree highly with that. But
what we want to be is always constructive and so
and and always believing. Uh, you know, you we're in

(55:22):
a tough spot, like it's just there's no way around it.
And I'm not you know, we're in a really tough spot.
We have not performed well, we haven't developed this group well,
we haven't got to where we wanted to get thus far.
And so, but but you know, we will get there.
That's what we do. I'm actually really good at this,
and we have the right guys to do this. We
just for for a number of reasons, we just haven't yet.

(55:45):
And so it's gonna take everything it's it's gonna take
all the criticism and all the truth telling and all
the encouragement. It's gonna take everything. It's not I think
rarely do you ever approach anything into terms of growing
an organization or building a team with a with a
singular focus about like, I'm only going to cross these

(56:06):
guys are only going to be positive. These guys are
I'm only going to massage, these guys are only telling
them the truth. I think, I think you're I think
it's much more dynamic than that. What we do know
for a fact right now is we just haven't done
it right yet. We haven't got it, we haven't got
the right vibe yet, and we've we've attacked it from
a bunch of different angles. But we're learning, we're growing,
and we are determined, uh to get better, and we will.

(56:30):
We're gonna get better.

Speaker 3 (56:31):
A question about listener says something you said after or
maybe after the Troy game, and that coach mcleany come
to you and said, Okay, they've got this already. You
don't have to keep hammering away at the scattering report.
They're ready talking about the tournament game last year. His
question is is, and I'm just gonna summarize here because
we're running short on time. Is simplifying and maybe that's

(56:53):
what you were talking about with core principles, something that
needs to happen.

Speaker 2 (56:55):
You know what it's it's really interesting. So what happens
is when you're and you're struggling like we have been,
you get layered things. So there is this massive need
for us to simplify, simplify, simplify to get to a
place where our guys are comfortable. At the same time,
you're working so hard to find some new area where

(57:16):
the guys actually function at their best, and so introducing
new and simplifying is that is that is a work
in progress and we're living in the tension right now.

Speaker 18 (57:26):
Do that.

Speaker 2 (57:27):
But yes, the concept is like, let's get simple so
we can really have ourselves fully invested a one hundred
percent through finding the space the lane where we function
at the highest level. Also is something we're searching for
We're doing both those. But I tell you this man,
like we're gonna look back at this and be like,
that was a brutal time, but look where we went
and look what we accomplished. Like that is what this

(57:48):
team's gonna do.

Speaker 3 (57:50):
Edit. So that's gonna do it. For this edition of
the show, presented by UK Healthcare, Game time seven Eastern
tomorrow for Kentucky and North Carolina Central here on the
UK Network.

Speaker 6 (58:01):
This has been the Mark Pope Show presented by UK
Healthcare on the UK Sports Network. The Mark Pope Show
was brought to you by Coca Cola, Appalachian Regional Healthcare,
Little Caesars.

Speaker 1 (58:15):
And by UK Healthcare.

Speaker 6 (58:17):
We are here to win, Ben Kentucky Basketball is a
presentation of the UK Sports Network Let's Go Cast powered
by JMI Sports