As Southeastern Conference play begins on Saturday, Kentucky head coach Mark Pope was recently asked what his team learned about itself during the 13-game nonconference schedule.
“We’ve learned a lot,” Pope said. “We’re trying to evolve into the team that is going to get us to the highest ceiling. I think our guys are pretty resilient. I think they learned a lot about themselves. I think they learned a lot about who we want to be.”
Kentucky took its share of lumps while going 9-4 in the nonconference portion of the season. The Cats fell to Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina and Gonzaga, the latter of which really sparked something in this team, according to Pope.
“I think the Nashville debacle is something that touched us deep to our soul and kind of tested the resolve of this group,” he said. “And made us redefine who we were going to be as human beings and as a team.”
Since that game, the Cats have definitely played better. UK got a home win against Indiana with a big second half, then one week later, did the same against Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team in Atlanta in the CBS Sports Classic. Pope loved how his team played in the second half in both of those games.
“I think Indiana and St John’s (games) with second halves that were elite level basketball in both cases, I think, confirmed some of the work that the guys had been doing and some of the direction we were going,” Pope said.
Now, the Cats turn their attention to SEC play, where they will open with a game at Alabama on Saturday.
“It’s obviously a great team,” Pope said. “They’re playing with wreckless abandon still. They’re playing with great pace, a terrific team, a well-coached team. So, we’ll have our hands full.”
Kentucky visits Alabama with momentum on its side. Pope and the Cats hope that they can continue their solid play against the Crimson Tide.
