The Kentucky Wildcats are transitioning into a new era under Mark Pope. Even so, they’re still a blue-collar program, and, as such, they’re expected to compete at the highest level.
That’s why it’s been so frustrating to watch them get off to slow starts and dig themselves into big holes to start games. They’ve been able to recover at times, but they’ve made it difficult on themselves.
The Wildcats have trailed at halftime eight times this season, sometimes by as many as 16 points. That’s why Coach Pope knows they need to start with more energy.
Mark Pope talks about Kentucky’s slow starts
“Kind of the flow of the game, I thought we were solid. We were really solid,” Pope said after the loss to Vanderbilt. “(Number) one (Jason Edwards) got going early, but aside from that, we were really solid kind of on both ends of the floor and the game had a flow to it. … I wasn’t disappointed with how it got started, I thought there was good focus. I wish we had an answer to (number) one earlier, but the flow of the game was still okay.”
The coach went on to claim that his team looked a little tired there. He also thinks they lacked focus, and gave the winners a lot of credit for the way they made the most of that:
“We haven’t started slow, it’s that second 10 minutes of the first half that has plagued us a little bit,” Pope said. “I think we get a little fatigued. We’re really — our bench is a little bit disintegrated, so we’ve got some fatigue out there. That’s an issue. Maybe some focus issues, some credit to Vanderbilt for turning up the heat.”
The Wildcats have gone 4-4 in games they’ve trailed at halftime, and that’s not what championship-caliber teams do. That’s going to be a worrisome trend going forward.